Stocks on Wall Street made only small gains on Thursday, as retail sales for March increased and oil prices edged higher on the day, according to Reuters. The US Commerce Department said sales rose 6 per cent in March, and also revised its estimate of February's sales decline to 0.8 per cent, from an earlier estimate of a 1.4 per cent decline for the month. The price of crude oil increased 1.1 per cent to 69.35 dollars per barrel in New York over continuing fears surrounding a standoff with Iran - the world's fourth largest oil producer - over its nuclear ambitions. General Electric Co lead first-quarter earnings reports, posting a 14 percent rise in profits to 4.04 billion dollars, but shares in the company were down 1.65 per cent to 33.89 dollars on Thursday. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 7.68 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 11,137.65. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1 point, or 0.08 per cent, to 1,289.12. The technology- heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 11.43 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 2,326.11. On currency markets, the US dollar edged down against the euro, to 82.549 euro cents from 82.593 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar also edged a fraction lower against the Japanese yen to 118.47 yen from 118.49 yen on Wednesday. Gold dropped 4.25 dollars to 593 dollars per fine ounce. --SP 22 56 Local Time 19 56 GMT
