Stocks up slightly on strong retail results

Some positive news from retailers boosted stocks just a little.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 25 points to close at 13,275. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose almost three points to close at 1,418. The Nasdaq rose 14 points to close at almost 3,077.

Retail stocks rose on positive earnings and outlooks from Gap Inc. and Ann Inc., the parent of retailer Ann Taylor.

Apple hit a new high, rising almost 2 percent to $648.11.

However, declines continued for Facebook and Groupon, the online coupon company.

Facebook hit $19, half the value of its initial public offering. It closed at $19.07. And Groupon, the online coupon company, lost another 5 percent to close at $4.75.

Facebook Inc. shares continued to fall, though not as fast. On Friday they fell another 11 cents to $19.76. After debuting at $38 per share, the stock hit a new low on Thursday as some of its early investors got their first chance to sell.

Broader categories of stocks were more mixed. Of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500, half were up and half were flat or down. The biggest decliner was health care, down a half-percent. Tech stocks rose almost 0.4 percent.

Computer chip maker Marvell Technology Group Ltd. saw its stock drop 14 percent after a revenue decline sliced its quarterly net income by more than half. Its CEO cited a slowing economy for the trouble.

Global markets edged higher after German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a new pledge of support for the euro. On Thursday she said that “we feel committed to do everything we can to maintain the common currency.” Germany is Europe's economic powerhouse, so its support is critical to the euro's survival.