NEW YORK—Stocks ticked higher on Wall Street Wednesday as hopes for a resilient economy jousted with worries about inflation following a much stronger reading than expected on U.S. retail sales.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent after swinging from early losses to gains through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Averaged edged up by 38 points, or 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq composite rose a more forceful 0.9 percent.
