US stocks finished higher on Wednesday after President Obama unveiled his plan to cut the budget deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.41 points, or 0.06%, to finish at 12,270.99. The S&P 500 climbed 0.25 points, or 0.61%, to close at 1,314.41. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 16.73 points, or 0.61%, to 2,761.52.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales rose 0.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted $396.3 billion. Analysts, expected total sales to rise 0.5% in March.
According to the Federal Reserve's beige book, economic activity grew moderately across the central bank's 12 districts, but higher energy and raw material costs were making price increases necessary, posing a problem for the retail and construction industries.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) rallied 72 cents, or 4.90%, to $15.42.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reported Wednesday that its first-quarter net income climbed to $5.6 billion, or $1.28 a share, from $3.3 billion, or 74 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue declined to $25.2 billion from $27.7 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to earnings of $1.15 a share on revenue of $25.2 billion. also increased its quarterly dividend to 25 cents a share from 5 cents a share. Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. fell 39 cents, or 0.84%, to $46.25. However, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that mortgage-related losses would continue for some time, and warned that investors should not expect additional dividend increases beyond the 25 cents set for this quarter.
European stocks closed up. The UK FTSE rose 45.97 points, or 0.77% to 6,010.44. The German DAX and French CAC increased 1.06% and 0.75% respectively.
Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 85.92 points, or 0.90%, to 9,641.18. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong climbed 158.66 points, or 0.66%, to 24,135.03.
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