US stocks bounce amid receding worries over Middle East

Wall Street stocks bounced early Monday following solid US retail sales data as markets embraced hopes that the world will avert a sharp escalation of conflict between Iran and Israel.

US retail sales picked up by 0.7 percent in March to $709.6 billion, topping estimates and defying predictions of weaker consumer demand.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9 percent at 38,315.44.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent to 5,165.84, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6 percent to 16,278.90.

Stocks fell sharply on Friday amid fears of retaliation by Iran over an earlier strike in Syria blamed on Israel.

Iran late on Saturday unleashed more than 300 missiles and attack drones, but the offensive was mostly repelled by air defenses.

"It kind of seems this whole big round of tensions between Israel and Iran is not gonna lead to a bigger warfare conflict," said LBBW's Karl Haeling.

Among individual companies, Goldman Sachs jumped 5.1 percent after reporting better-than-expected profits on a strong performance across most businesses.

Trump Media & Technology Group, the social media platform associated with Donald Trump, slumped 12.3 percent as the former president arrived at a New York courthouse for a historic criminal trial.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records in a scheme to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with adult film actress Stormy Daniels to shield his 2016 election campaign from a last-minute upheaval.