US: Stocks fall after weak July retail sales data

[NEW YORK]

WALL Street stocks fell early on Tuesday following disappointing July US retail sales due in part to a steep drop in car purchases.

All three major indices were solidly negative, with analysts also pointing to worries over rising Covid-19 cases, as well as uncertainty over China's crackdown on its information technology sector.

Stocks had also opened lower on Monday, but rallied throughout the day. Both the Dow and S&P 500 finished at all-time highs on Monday.

"Today the early hole is expected to be a little deeper," Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said in a note shortly before the market opened.

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.9 per cent at 35,290.13.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.8 per cent to 4,445.20, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.0 per cent to 14,640.46.

US retail sales fell a surprising 1.1 per cent in July compared to June, a far bigger drop than analysts were expecting, as auto sales collapsed 4.3 per cent, the Commerce Department reported.

Restaurants and bars continued to see an upswing in business as customers ventured out despite increasing cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19. Rising prices at gasoline stations also boosted sales there, the data showed.

Among individual companies, Walmart shares rose 0.7 per cent as the giant retailer reported another quarter of solid US sales growth and lifted its full-year forecast.

Home Depot slumped 4.8 per cent despite reporting record revenues, with analysts pointing to a disappointing performance in same-store sales.

AFP