Daily Summary....

U.S. Markets

Dow +46.90 (+0.38%)
Nasdaq +14.28 (+0.63%)
S&P 500 +10.46 (+0.79%)

News That Moved the Market:

Stocks Finish Higher Despite Lousy Retail Sales. Markets were able to end the day with gains for the first time this week, but volatility was still prevalent in today's trading. Selling pressure was strong early in the session when chain stores released January's sales results. With a few exceptions, the results were grim. In all, sales grew 0.5% from last year, with notable weakness in luxury and department store sales. Wal-Mart (WMT, +2.1%) reported a 0.5% increase in sales, well below the 2.0% jump analysts had anticipated. Target (TGT, +6.1%) saw a 1.1% decrease in same-store sales, while Nordstrom (JWN, +3.7%) said sales fell 6.6% at stores open more than a year. Despite the negativity, traders bought retailers perhaps sensing a bottom or figuring that earnings will not be affected by the poor start to the year.

Senate Passes Stimulus Plan. The U.S. Senate passed a $151 billion economic stimulus plan similar to the one the House passed last week. The bill will likely now get to the President very quickly to sign.

Pending Home Sales Decline. Homebuilders finished higher, despite lower than expected pending home sales data. The National Association of Realtors announced December pending home sales fell 1.5%, more than the 1.0% decrease expected, but an improvement over November's figures.

Pepsi Jumps On 2008 Outlook. Pepsi (PEP, +5.5%) traded higher after the company put out a solid forecast for the year in the face of higher commodity prices and economic weakness. The company reported a 31% decrease in profits due to a large tax benefit from last year. Pepsi sees earnings increasing about 10% in 2008.

Tomorrow Notable Earnings:

Weyerhaeuser(WY) Before Open

Economic Events:

10:00 AM: Wholesale Inventories