The US stock market showed a positive reaction following the release of stronger-than-expected retail sales data in January.
US retail sales returned to stronger growth in January, jumping 3.0% from a 1.1% decline recorded earlier, and missing expectations for a rise of just 1.9%.
Although this reading will encourage the Federal Reserve (Fed) to continue raising interest rates, but for now stock investors see the data as showing that the US economy is more resilient.
Also supporting the view was New York factory activity data which showed a slower contraction last month.
As a result, major US stock indexes bounced back from earlier losses, with the Dow Jones Industrials closing higher at 34,128.06, up 0.11%.
While the Nasdaq also ended positively with an increase of 0.77% at 12,687.89 and the S&P500 was green at 4,147.61 following a 0.28% increase.
Among the notable gains in the New York trading session was Airbnb, which surged 13% following a better-than-expected quarterly earnings report.
