US stocks are opening higher as investors are encouraged by a pickup in retail sales last month. According to AP, Citigroup rose 4 percent after reporting first-quarter earnings that were better than analysts were expecting. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,827 in the first few minutes of trading Monday. The index lost 2.7 percent last week, its worst weekly showing since January. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 86 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,112. The Nasdaq composite rose 31 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,030. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 1.1 percent in March, the best showing since September 2012. Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.63 percent.
