U.S. stocks rose, but pared earlier gains after a surprise decline in consumer sentiment took some of the shine off strong retail sales data and stellar results from Google.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 71 points, or 0.6%, at 11550, but had been up as much as 134 points at its intraday high. The pullback from session highs brought the Dow back into negative territory for the year. The Dec. 31 close was 11578.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 10 points, or 0.8%, to 1213, with energy and technology stocks in the lead. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 21 points, or 0.8%, to 2641. The Nasdaq was also briefly up for the year earlier in the session.

"You see weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment indicators, which is reflective of what consumers are saying. On the flip side, we got better than expected reading on consumer spending, which is what consumers are actually doing," said Matt Kaufler, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors.

"There seems to be dichotomy in what consumers are saying and what they are doing, and it seemed to tamp down the gains somewhat," Kaufler said.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for early October fell to 57.5 from 59.4 at the end of September. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected the index to increase to 60.0.

The market's early-day rise was fueled by data showing that retail sales in September climbed 1.1% from the previous month, above expectations of a 0.8% rise, and by strong quarterly results from Google.

In addition, optimism over a weekend meeting of the finance officials from the world's leading economies helped offset Standard & Poor's downgrade of Spain and Fitch Ratings' negative outlook on several banks.

Google jumped 5.9% after the online search giant reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations by a wide margin. Revenue also topped forecasts as online ad sales accelerated.

In other corporate news, Apple gained 1.9% as the latest version of the iPhone, the iPhone 4s, arrives at retail stores on Friday.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services added 7.3%. The trucking company's third-quarter profit rose 32% and revenue grew across the board, with particular strength in the company's intermodal division.

Mattel shed 1.3% after the toy maker reported third-quarter earnings that met estimates but showed a disappointing decline in gross margins. The company also boosted its share repurchase program by $500 million.

Microchip Technology lost 4.6%, and was the weakest stock in the S&P 500, after the company indicated fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue would fall short of previous forecasts.

-By Brendan Conway, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2670; brendan.conway@dowjones.com

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jun 2024 até Jul 2024 Click aqui para mais gráficos Mattel.
Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jul 2023 até Jul 2024 Click aqui para mais gráficos Mattel.