Monday

A rally in U.S. stocks on stronger-than-expected retail sales fizzled out late in the session as worries about the economy persisted. Data showed U.S. retail sales surged in October, topping expectations on robust car sales and solid spending for a broad array of merchandise. Retail sales rose 1.2% last month, the fourth consecutive increase and the biggest rise since March. Other data released today were not quite as encouraging. The November reading of New York-area manufacturing activity from the Federal Reserve Bank of NY fell into negative territory. Meanwhile, a bigger-than-expected increase in inventories at U.S. businesses in September could leave companies holding too much inventory if the holiday shopping season disappoints. DJIA +9.39 Nasdaq -4.39 S&P 500 -1.46.