The major indices closed in green territory on Monday as commodity prices stabilized. Energy stocks moved ahead on an increase in crude oil prices. The following day, the indices closed with slight gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending in the green zone, rebounding up off early low levels. Indices landed in the green zone on Wednesday, again with the Dow rebounding from early session lows on a variety of economic news. Inflation ticked up slightly more than expected in January as shown by The Consumer Price Index increasing 0.5% last month, versus economists’ forecasts of a 0.3% upswing. Core inflation edged up 0.3% in January. On another note, retail sales decreased in January, with sales slipping 0.3% versus expectations of a 0.2% gain. The Dow, S&P 500 Index, and NASDAQ Composite stepped up for the fifth straight session on Thursday. The Street heard from the Bureau of Labor Statistics again, this time, reporting that U.S. producer prices ticked up by 0.4% in January. The results were in line with forecasts. Core PPI rose 0.4%, which exceeded estimates of 0.2% growth. Additionally, the Department of Labor showed initial jobless claims increased last week, as first-time claims climbed by 7,000 to 230,000. After a positive week, the markets closed with mixed moves on Friday. The Dow and S&P 500 posted slight gains while the NASDAQ shed some points. Trading was mixed on a variety of economic news. Consumer confidence ticked up in February, according to a preliminary measure from the University of Michigan. The Consumer Sentiment Index ramped up to 99.9 from 95.7 in January. The reading marked the second-highest level in 14 years.
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