Stocks open higher

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks opened higher Monday, a half-day on Wall Street, as investors cheered an upbeat retail sales report and mulled mixed news from Merrill Lynch.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 0.6 percent.

The broader S&P 500 index (SPX.X) climbed 0.6 percent, while the tech-fueled Nasdaq (COMPX) rose 0.5 percent.

Markets rallied Friday on the strength of Blackberry maker Research In Motion's quarterly earnings and a report of a possible capital infusion for troubled banking giant Merrill Lynch.

Merrill Lynch announced early Monday that it will sell a $6.2 billion stake to Temasek Holdings, Singapore's state-owned investment company, to help shore up the company's balance sheet.

Meanwhile, a Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500) analyst lowered his earnings forecast for Merrill Lynch Monday, warning that more writedowns could be in store for the company that has already reported close to $8 billion in losses due to souring mortgage backed securities.

In other news, retailers are reporting strong sales for Sunday's pre-holiday shopping frenzy, a sign that previously low consumer confidence numbers could be inaccurate.

Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 4.19 percent from 4.16 percent late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

U.S. light crude oil for January delivery rose 39 cents to $93.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and gained against the yen.

COMEX gold for February delivery fell $1.10 to $814.30 an ounce.