Strong retail sales clash with worries about U.S. inflation

Stocks ticked higher on Wall Street Wednesday as hopes for a resilient economy jousted with worries about inflation following a much stronger reading than expected on U.S. retail sales.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% after swinging from early losses to gains through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Averaged edged up by 38 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose a more forceful 0.9%.

Sales at U.S. retailers jumped by more last month than expected, even as shoppers contended with higher interest rates on credit cards and other loans. The surprising strength offers hope that the most important part of the U.S. economy, consumer spending, can stay afloat despite worries about a possible recession looming. It's the latest piece of data to show the economy remains more resilient than feared.

At the same time, though, the strong buying potentially adds more fuel to inflation, which a report earlier this week showed is cooling by less than expected. Upward pressure on inflation could force the Federal Reserve to stay more aggressive in keeping interest rates high.

The yield on the two-year Treasury briefly jumped toward 4.70% and its highest level since November after the retail sales report, up from less than 4.60% overnight and from 4.62% late Tuesday. It then eased back to 4.60%. The 10-year yield rose to 3.79% from 3.75% late Tuesday.

Shares of Airbnb jumped 13.4% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for its latest quarter than analysts expected.

On the losing end were stocks of energy producers, which fell 1.8% for the worst performance by far of the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500.