Wall Street stalls as retail sales come in weaker than expected
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are stalling on Wall Street after a report showed U.S. retailers made less money at the end of last year than economists expected. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% in early trading Tuesday and remains close to its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 254 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%. Treasury yields fell in the bond market following the weaker-than-expected report on retail sales. Coca-Cola fell after reporting revenue that came in below forecasts and giving an outlook that disappointed investors. Japanese stocks rose to another record.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Wall Street shifted from small gains to losses early Tuesday amid another deluge of corporate earnings while Japan’s benchmark set another record after a historic election win for the nation’s first female prime minister.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.1% before the opening bell, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.2%. Nasdaq futures were down less than 0.2%.
Coca-Cola slid nearly 4% after the beverage giant topped Wall Street’s profit expectations but fell short on revenue targets. Coke’s revenue rose 2% from the same quarter last year, helped by 4% price hikes in North America.
Spotify jumped 9.7% after it the streaming music and podcast platform reported that its monthly active users and subscribers each grew by double-digit percentages in the fourth quarter.
Ford Motor Co. releases its latest financial results after the closing bell Tuesday.
Coming later Tuesday morning is the government’s latest retail sales data.
Also this week, the government on Wednesday issues its January jobs report, while Friday will bring the latest monthly reading of inflation at the consumer level.
Either report could sway expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates. The Fed has put its cuts to interest rates on hold, but a weakening of the job market could push it to resume more quickly.
Too-hot inflation could keep it on hold for longer. One of the reasons the U.S. stock market remains close to records is the expectation that the Fed will continue cutting interest rates.
In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.3% to finish at 57,650.54, a record close. It jumped 3.9% to a record Monday after the landslide victory for Sanae Takaichi’s political party in Sunday’s parliamentary election. Takaichi is expected to push through reforms intended to boost the economy and stock market.
“Japan’s fiscal stance could loosen further because the LDP’s supermajority will enable the new government to implement policies with few obstacles,” Fitch Ratings said in a report following the election, referring to Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party.
“Policy choices under the new government are likely to focus on tax relief and growth-oriented investment spending, reflecting voter concerns over higher inflation and low income growth,” it said.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 0.6% to 27,183.15, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.1% to 4,128.37.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined less than 0.1% to 8,867.40. South Korea’s Kospi gained less than 0.1% to 5,301.69.
In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 was unchanged, while Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.5%. Germany’s DAX was down 0.2%.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 21 cents to $64.57 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 31 cents to $69.35 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 155.08 Japanese yen from 155.88 yen. The euro cost $1.1894, down from $1.1918.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama