US stocks end mixed after weaker-than-expected growth in retail sales

New York, Aug 15 (IANS) Wall Street’s major averages closed mixed after data showed US retail sales in July increased less than expected.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 34.30 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 27,931.02. The S&P 500 was down 0.58 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 3,372.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 23.20 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 11,019.30, Xinhua news agency reported.

Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors finished lower, with utilities down 0.91 per cent, leading the laggards. Energy climbed 0.94 per cent, the best-performing group.

Meanwhile, US-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower, with eight of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P US Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

US retail sales rose 1.2 per cent last month after advancing 8.4 per cent in June, the Commerce Department reported on Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 2 per cent increase.

The rebound in US retail sales slowed in July by more than expected, indicating a surge in new COVID-19 infections threatened the economic recovery, experts noted.

Wall Street grappled with the uncertain fate of the further coronavirus stimulus in the United States as the nation’s lawmakers continued to wrangle over the package.

Roughly 5.29 million confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States with nearly 168,000 deaths as of Friday afternoon, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

–IANS

rt/