Surprise Retail Sales Growth Offset by Inventory Data
Stocks shuttled in a tight range Friday after mixed reports on retail sales and business inventories gave investors little new insight into the economy.
The reports weren’t enough to propel the market a day after the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at a 17-month high.
Stocks had been modestly higher at the start of trading Friday after a surprising increase in February retail sales.
But investors are displeased with the Commerce Department’s report that inventories were unchanged. Economists had forecast an increase. But investors were displeased with the Commerce Department’s report that inventories were unchanged. Economists had forecast an increase.
Analysts are hoping that businesses will restock store shelves on a consistent basis, which would be a positive signal for the economy.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month. Analysts had expected sales to drop.
The reports come as investors look for more signs about the direction of the economy. Stocks are higher for a second straight week on hopes that a rebound is strengthening.
The market bounced higher a week ago after the Labor Department said employers cut fewer jobs in February than economists had expected. But trading has been more subdued this week because there has been little fresh news about the economy.
Neil Menard, principal at Steben & Co. in Rockville, Md., said the market could continue to make incremental gains until there is a better sense about the job market. He doesn’t see much confidence supporting the climb in stocks of the past two weeks.
“There is a lack of conviction in the markets,” he said. “Everyone is kind of in wait-and-see mode.”
In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.38, or less than 0.1 percent, to 10,612.22. The broader S&P 500 index slipped 1.13, or 0.1 percent, to 1,149.11.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.65, or 0.1 percent, to 2,366.81. It stands at an 18-month high.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.70 percent from 3.73 percent late Thursday.
Crude oil fell 74 cents to $81.37 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar mostly fell against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.
Advancing stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 419.9 million shares compared with 363.8 million traded at the same point Thursday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.77, or 0.3 percent, to 675.45.
Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell less than 0.1 percent. Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.8 percent.
IEVA M. AUGSTUMS, AP Business Writer