US STOCKS-Retailers, Disney lift Wall Street

                                

                                
* Retailers up on Abercrombie earnings, JC Penney
                                
 * Disney profit and revenue top expectations, shares rise
                                
 * Indexes up: Dow 0.8 pct, S&P 500 0.7, Nasdaq 0.9
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
                                
(Updates to afternoon)
                                
 By Rodrigo Campos
                                
 NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday,
setting up a second straight week of gains, as upbeat retail
news reinforced hopes for strong sales in the key holiday
season.
                                
 Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> shares supported the Dow industrials
after the media giant posted late on Thursday profit and
revenue that beat analysts' expectations.
                                
 Retailer shares rose as department store operator JC Penney
Co Inc <JCP.N> said earnings for the holiday quarter could beat
estimates, while clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co
<ANF.N> posted better-than-expected results.
                                
 Consumer discretionary shares led the way even as the
Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary November Surveys of
Consumers showed U.S. consumer confidence fell to its weakest
level in three months amid grim expectations for job and income
prospects.
                                
 "I think people were paying more attention to JC Penney and
Abercrombie & Fitch as indicative examples of people's
sentiment toward retail," said Michael James, senior trader at
Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.
                                
 JC Penney rose 7.2 percent to $31.50 and Abercrombie &
Fitch climbed 9.4 percent to $40.21. For more news on these
companies, see [ID:nN13462737] and [ID:nN13328098]
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 84.49 points,
or 0.83 percent, to 10,281.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> added 7.35 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,094.59. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 18.68 points, or 0.87
percent, to 2,167.70.
                                
 Wedbush Morgan's James also pointed to a slide in the U.S.
dollar as supporting a rise in stocks, as investors take
advantage of the greenback's weakness to invest in commodities
and equities. The energy <.GSPE> and materials <.GSPM> sectors
of the S&P 500 outperformed the benchmark index.
                                
 The dollar weakened as the U.S. trade deficit widened in
September by an unexpectedly large 18.2 percent, the most in
more than 10 years.  For a story on the U.S. economy, see
[ID:nN13463684]
                                
 Disney shares rose 4.3 percent to $30.29 after it posted a
larger-than-expected rise in both quarterly profit and revenue,
as strong results from its cable business helped it overcome a
disappointing stretch for its film studio. [ID:nN12432390].
                                
 "(Disney) is a big name that is very easy for large
portfolio managers to continue to buy on good results, and I
think you're seeing the fruits of that today," James said.
                                
 Brokerage upgrades lifted shares of Qualcomm Inc <QCOM.O>
and Juniper Networks Inc <JNPR.N>. Juniper shot up 6 percent to
$26.18 and chipmaker Qualcomm rose 2.3 percent to $45.89 and
helped lift the PHLX semiconductor index <.SOXX>. For details
see [ID:nN13474391] and [ID:nBNG443264]
 (Editing by Padraic Cassidy)