Retail sales lift Dow; Apple bites Nasdaq

The Dow rose Monday as robust U.S. retail sales data helped large-cap consumer stocks, but a 4 percent slide in Apple hurt the Nasdaq.

U.S. retail sales for March shot up 0.8 percent, sharply higher than the forecast, pushing Procter & Gamble up 1.47 percent, while giving Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, a 1.36 percent boost.

Despite strong retail sales, the market had things to worry about. Rising borrowing costs in Spain, which says it has probably slipped into its second recession since 2009, and a weak New York State manufacturing report stirred concerns about Europe's debt crisis and the U.S. economic recovery.

"The market behavior is fairly manic today, and investors are confused after a mixed set of data, Spanish yields, and momentum stocks like Apple losing ground," said James Dailey, portfolio manager at TEAM Asset Strategy Fund in Harrisburg, Pa. "The confusion is leading to anxiety, and that's why we are seeing the blue chips, the large caps, outperform."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 71.82 points to 12,921.41. But the Standard & Poor's 500 index inched down 0.69 of a point to 1,369.57. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 22.93 points to close at 2,988.40.