Wall Street stocks shrugged off early weakness on Wednesday, finishing with gains after a surprisingly strong January retail sales report.

Sales bounced by three percent last month to US$697.0 billion after two months of contraction, following strong gains in auto sales, department store sales and other categories.

Analysts had expected a rise of just 1.7 percent.

The report is the latest to suggest strength in the US economy -- something that has sometimes rattled equity investors nervous over potential further Federal Reserve interest rate increases.

That dynamic has sometimes led to talk that "good news is bad news."

"Markets seem to be changing their tune about 'good news being good news,'" said Art Hogan an analyst at B. Riley Financial, who pointed to greater optimism that the US economy will avoid a sharp downturn, a so-called "hard landing."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 percent at 34,128.05.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.3 percent to 4,147.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.9 percent to 12,070.59.

Among individual companies, Airbnb surged 13.4 percent after reporting better-than-expected profits as it characterised travel demand as "strong."

Devon Energy slumped more than 10 percent as its earnings lagged estimates.

Analysts also pointed to upset at the energy producer's capital spending plan, which exceeded expectations. (AFP)