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New York - US stocks advanced Thursday following an upbeat retail sales report, but the gains were limited by concerns over the rapid fall in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 63.19 points at 17 596.34.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 9.19 points to 2 035.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 24.14 points to 4 708.16.
The indices were in positive territory all day, but finished below their intra-session peaks, with the Dow trading above 17 750 at times.
"Investors are watching oil and they don't know what to make of it," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.
US oil prices closed below $60 a barrel for the first time since July 2009. Oil prices have lost more than 40% since June.
Key worries for investors include fears that a major hedge fund or bank could be hurt by a bad bet on oil, Ablin said.
"There's a cloud hanging over the market," he added.
US government data showed that retail sales in November rose 0.7% in a solid start to the holiday shopping season.
Leading retail stocks rallied on the report, including department store Macy's (+1.5%), Dow component Wal-Mart Stores (+1.0%) and electronics chain Best Buy (+1.8%).
Urban Outfitters, which sells youth-oriented apparel, jumped 7.6% after it said in a securities filing that comparable sales were higher so far in the fourth quarter.
Delta Air Lines shot up 4.6% as it forecast more than $5bn in pre-tax income in 2015, in part due to lower fuel prices. The airline projected market fuel prices of $2.10-$2.20 per gallon, 70 cents lower than 2014.
American Airlines and United Continental both rose 3.3%.
LendingClub, a peer-based online credit marketplace, vaulted 56.2% above its initial public offering price of $15 a share to $23.43 in its first day of trade.
Office supplies chain Staples jumped 8.7% as activist investor Starboard Value took about a 6% stake in the company.
Starboard also snatched a stake of approximately 10% in Staples' competitor Office Depot, which surged 12.1%.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury advanced to 2.18% from 2.17% on Wednesday, while the 30-year slipped to 2.83% from 2.84%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
