Factory data lifts Dow; Intel weighs on Nasdaq

Procter & Gamble also helped give the Dow one of its biggest boosts, adding 3 percent to $48.70 after the company raised its quarterly dividend by 10 percent.

Echoing the sentiment from Intel was Wal-Mart Stores Inc Chief Executive Mike Duke, who said he still saw "a lot of stress" in the economy and did not anticipate a quick end to the recession, driving an S&P index of retailers' stocks <.RLX> down 1.5 percent.

Shares of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, slipped 0.2 percent to $51.02.

Shares of some department store chains fell, with Macy's Inc down 5.2 percent at $11.37 and Nordstrom down 6 percent at $19.71.

Elsewhere among consumer stocks, Dow component McDonald's lost 1.8 percent to $53.82 after rival fast-food chain Burger King Holdings Inc said it saw a surprising drop in customer visits to its restaurants in March.

Burger King shares tumbled 16.4 percent to $18.96.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)