US: Stocks retreat from record on lacklustre data

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks retreated from records in opening trade Friday following lacklustre US retail sales and producer pricing data.

US retail sales in July came in at US$457.7 billion, essentially flat compared with the prior month and an indication of a pullback in consumer activity following a strong June.

US producer prices for the same month fell 0.4 per cent, another indication of sluggish activity.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18,589.89, down 0.1 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.1 per cent to 2,183.41, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.1 per cent to 5,222.98.

All three major indices closed at records on Thursday for the first time since 1999.

AFP