News Summary: Retailers lead stock indexes higher
News Summary: Retailers lead stock indexes to their fourth day of gains; Tech stocks slump
RETAIL POWER: Rite Aid, Ross Stores and other retailers surged Thursday after turning in better sales, leading major stock market indexes higher. The discount chain Ross Stores jumped 6 percent, the best gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
UNPLUGGED: Makers of computer hardware and software sank following a report that first-quarter shipments of PCs dropped 14 percent worldwide over the past year. Hewlett-Packard lost 6 percent and Microsoft lost 4 percent.
FINAL SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average gained 62.90 points to 14,865.14, up 0.4 percent. The S&P 500 rose 5.64 points, also 0.4 percent, to 1,593.37.
