Retail sales picked up last month as Americans received more than $50 billion in stimulus checks. Investors took the report as an encouraging sign for the resilience of the economy, even as some analysts wondered how long the uptick would last.

Sales of retail goods and services rose 1 percent in May, double what economists had expected, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. The biggest gains came at gasoline stations, where high prices brought more income to station owners, and at outlets for home and garden supplies.

Wall Street warmed to the strong report, which also revised higher the government’s original estimates for sales in April and March. The Dow Jones industrials rose nearly 200 points before falling back in the afternoon; the index closed up half a percent at 12,141.58.

But as is usual with economic indicators, the report came with its share of caveats. Sales were 2.5 percent higher in May 2008 than in May 2007, but that is less than the rate of increase year over year for April. On an annual basis, sales have fallen for the last six months when adjusted for inflation.