Dow has 1st weekly gain in a month

June 12, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

NEW YORK

The Dow Jones industrial average has logged its first winning week in a month.

The Dow rose 39 points Friday and ended the week with a gain of 2.8 percent, its best weekly advance since mid-February. The market slid in morning trading on disappointing retail-sales numbers but started to pare its losses after a report found consumers are gaining confidence in the economy. The market climbed in the last hour of trading to end near the highs of the day.

Treasury prices rose, pushing down interest rates, after spiking Thursday.

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer- sentiment index showed consumer confidence rose to its highest level since January 2008 and came in well ahead of forecasts. The jump in confidence was an encouraging sign but still doesn’t signal the all-clear for the economy, said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group in Westport, Conn.

“We recovered some lost ground, but there is still some ways to go,” Sheldon said. That was evident in the disappointing retail- sales report, which initially sent stocks lower.

The government reported that retail sales fell 1.2 percent in May. It was the first drop in eight months. It was a surprise to economists who had predicted the pace of growth would slow between April and May but still rise.

Companies dependent on consumer spending fell after the report. Proctor & Gamble Co., which makes Tide detergent and Gillette razors, lost 1.5 percent. J.C.Penney Co. fell 1.1 percent, and Macy’s Inc. shares also slipped.