US stock indexes move higher after 2 days of losses, follow gains in European markets

U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading Wednesday following broad gains in European markets. Investors had their eye on corporate earnings and deal news. The government reported weak retail sales figures for April.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,113 as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained seven points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,106. The Nasdaq composite added 28 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,004.

GLASS DEAL: Owens-Illinois, which makes beer and wine bottles, jumped 9.6 percent after saying it would buy a glass container business from the Mexican company Vitro. The stock rose $2.28 to $26.07.

PROXY FALLOUT: DuPont sank 5.8 percent after billionaire investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund lost a proxy fight against the chemical maker. The stock slid $4.33 to $70.05.

MISSED THE MARK: Macy's said its profit slumped 13 percent in the first quarter as the department store chain faced delayed merchandise shipments from the West Coast port slowdown, severe winter weather and lower spending by international tourists. The latest results fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Shares in Macy's fell $1.42, or 2.2 percent, to $63.92.

RETAIL SALES: The Commerce Department said that retail sales were unchanged in April after rising 1.1 percent the previous month. Steady hiring has yet to spark significantly higher incomes. Sales have risen just 0.9 percent over the past 12 months.

EUROPEAN ACTION: The economy of the 19 countries that use the euro grew by a quarterly rate of 0.4 percent in the first three months of the year. That was up from the 0.3 percent recorded in the previous three-month period and was in line with most expectations in the financial markets. The news helped lift European indexes. France's CAC 40 advanced 0.9 percent, while Germany's DAX added 0.4 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: Weak Chinese figures added to signs the downturn in the world's second-largest economy is deepening. Retail sales growth slowed to 10 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.6 percent lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.6 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 0.7 percent and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.8 percent. Sydney's S&P ASX 200 rose 0.7 percent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 74 cents to $61.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.22 percent from 2.25 percent late Tuesday.