Rise in German retail sales push DAX to record high

German retail sales and record index advances in the U.S. fueled European stocks earlier in the session, pushing the DAX up a staggering 16.4% YTD. Retail sales rose by 2.9% M/M and 5.3% Y/Y in January, heavily beating economists' forecast for a 0.3% M/M decline. U.S. stocks also began the new month with a bang, as the Nasdaq closed above the 5,000 level for the first time since March 2000, yesterday, and the Dow and S&P 500 set new records