Stocks moved higher Monday, as investors welcomed a sharp rise in retail sales and better-than-expected quarterely earnings from Citigroup. Results are due in the morning from Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola and Johnson; Johnson. Intel and IBM will report after the bell. Overall, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report third-quarter earnings down 1% from last year, according to S&P Capital IQ. Also on tap for Tuesday morning, investors will receive reports on inflation, industrial production and foreign purchases of Treasuries. European stocks were higher in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the DAX in Germany added 0.5% and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.4%.
Asian markets ended mostly higher. The Shanghai Composite finished flat, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ticked up 0.3%, and Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.4%.
