Nasdaq Closes up For the 6th Straight Day

U.S. stocks climbed today, clearing initial losses, after better-than-expected earnings from companies including Goodyear Tire & Rubber helped deflect weaker-than-anticipated economic data.

Ahead of the open, stock futures intensified their losses after the data, with sentiment already lower after a disappointing forecast from Cisco Systems.  The network gear maker projected a drop of 6 to 8 percent in revenue in the current quarter.

The market closed higher even though the government reported that retail sales unexpectedly fell in January. Economists were looking for no change last month, but sales dropped 0.4%. Excluding auto sales, sales were flat. Sales for November and December were also revised lower.

The Labour Department reported applications for unemployment benefits climbed by 8,000 to 339,000, higher than the 300,000 projected by economists.

Friday:  Import prices at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Industrial production at 9:15 a.m. Eastern. Consumer sentiment at 9:55 a.m. Eastern.

News Sources:  CNBC and CNN Money