Retail stocks lead a late upturn on Wall Street

(AP) Stocks are ending mostly higher on Wall Street after a rally in retail stocks offset flaring tensions over increasing the country's borrowing limit.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 27 points at 13,534 Tuesday. The index drifted higher late in the afternoon after being in the red most of the day. It fell as much as 61 points.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose a point to 1,472, edging above the five-year high it reached Thursday. The Nasdaq fell six points to 3,110, dragged down by another loss in Apple.

Retail stocks moved higher throughout the day, boosted by a report that showed sales increased in December.

Rising stocks outnumbered falling ones on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was 3.1 billion shares, slightly below the recent average.