Dawn Chorus: Target’s outlook boosts Wall Street

Wall Street inched higher on Wednesday after a positive outlook from Target buoyed consumer stocks temporarily quelling concerns about consumer demand.

The Dow Jones rose 10 points, or 0.1%, to close at 10,415. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose two points, or 0.2%, to close at 1,094. The Nasdaq composite index climbed six points, or 0.3%, to 2,216.

Almost all the big retailers closed higher after Target said that third quarter earnings would match analyst estimates. Its shares rose 2.5%. The S&P 500 retail sector was up 1.7%.

Continued decline in oil prices pressured energy stocks pushing ExxonMobil down 1.1%. Conoco Phillips declined 0.8% and Chevron slid 0.9%.

In Europe, FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 0.4% lower at 1,052 points after crude prices fell on US demand concerns. The UK’s FTSE 100 index dropped 0.9%, halting a four-day streak, with banks and energy firms leading the decline. Germany’s Dax index was down 0.6%.

Asian stocks closed mixed as initial buying interest after Wall Street's rally on Tuesday faded as cautious investors moved away from the market.

The Nikkei 225 average rose 0.9% following news that Naoto Kan, Japan’s prime minister, will outline stimulus plans as early as next month. The FTSE Asia-Pacific Index was up 0.6%.

Australian shares dropped 0.1%, dragged down in part by a decline in BHP Billiton stocks after the mining group turned hostile with its $39bn bid for Potash Corp.