Stocks close higher on retail reports

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Stocks ended a seesaw day with a modest gain Wednesday after investors found some pluses in retail earnings reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average and other major indexes fluctuated throughout the day before closing with slender gains. Retailers continued reporting second-quarter earnings, and investors found a few positives.

Target Corp. missed analysts’ forecasts for its second-quarter revenue and offered a muted outlook for sales for the rest of the year. But the company told analysts it hopes to offset weak sales with higher sales of groceries and its new discounts for credit-card holders. Target initially fell then recovered to a healthy advance.

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