Strong retail sales boost markets

A stronger than expected gain in November retail sales lifted the markets to a sharply higher open with the Dow leaping 190 points to 17,723. Nasdaq soared 63 points to 4,747.

On the upside

The Wall Street Journal reported that Starboard Value increased its stake in Office Depot (Nasdaq: ODP) from 8.6% to approximately 10%.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Starboard Value acquired an approximately 6% stake in Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS).

Restoration Hardware (NYSE: RH) reported sharply higher third quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates.

On the downside

Political and economic instability in Greece weighed down shares of National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG).

SandRidge Energy (NYSE: SD) extended its losses.

Lakeland Industries (Nasdaq: LAKE) widened losses for the third quarter.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 7 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 surged 21 points to 2047. Bitcoin gained $9 to $354.