Stocks creep higher

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks inched higher Monday morning as investors welcomed global central bank efforts to keep money flowing despite credit fears, as well as strong July retail sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 46.99 to 13,286.53, Charts) added 0.3 percent almost 90 minutes into the session, while the the broader S&P 500 (up 7.33 to 1,460.97, Charts) index added 0.4 percent. The tech-fueled Nasdaq Composite (up 14.50 to 2,559.39, Charts) index increased by 0.4 percent.

Stocks have been whipsawed over the last few months on fears about tightening credit after a period of widespread liquidity. At the same time, investors have been absorbing the impact of the slumping housing market, including the collapse of the subprime mortgage market - loans made to consumers with less than ideal credit.

On Thursday of last week, concerns about these developments reached a crescendo, sending stocks tumbling, with the Dow industrials seeing their second worst session of the year.

Friday started off on a bad note too, but investors managed to recover most of the day's losses by the close. That recovery mode continued Monday, particularly amid soothing moves from a variety of central banks.

The European Central Bank (ECB) added another $65 billion to its monetary system, building on last week's series of cash infusions. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) also added $5 billion, building on last week's moves.

Plus, just as the market opened, the Federal Reserve injected an additional $2 billion in reserves to the nation's banking system.

Also helping with early sentiment: news out of Goldman Sachs (up $3.11 to $183.61, Charts, Fortune 500) that one of its troubled hedge funds is getting a $3 billion cash infusion from a team of investors.

And July retail sales beat expectations. Sales rose 0.3 percent in the month, above forecasts for a rise of 0.2 percent. Sales excluding autos rose 0.4 percent, meeting expectations.

Among stock movers, Blackstone Group (up $1.30 to $26.58, Charts) jumped after the private equity firm reported that it more than tripled its quarterly profit and revenue in the second quarter.

Additionally, a number of stocks that got battered at the end of last week bounced back, including Dow components Alcoa, AIG and General Motors.

Hewlett-Packard (up $1.06 to $48.27, Charts, Fortune 500), Dell (up $0.59 to $27.04, Charts, Fortune 500) and Yahoo (up $0.61 to $24.55, Charts, Fortune 500) were among the tech stocks bouncing back.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers two to one on volume of 480 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by nearly three to two on volume of 680 million shares.

Treasury prices were little changed, with the benchmark 10-year note yield holding at 4.80 percent.

In currency trading, the dollar rose versus the euro and yen.

U.S. light crude oil for September delivery rose $1.44 to $72.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.