U.S. stocks retreat further amid downbeat data

Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-15 04:51:58|Editor: yan
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NEW YORK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks extended losses on Wednesday as investors digested a batch of generally downbeat economic reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 248.91 points, or 1.00 percent, to 24,758.12. The S&P 500 lost 15.83 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,749.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 14.2 points, or 0.19 percent, to 7,496.81.

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February 2018 came in at 492 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of 0.1 percent from the previous month, missing market consensus of a 0.4-percent gain, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

"Retail sales continue to disappoint, especially the biggest ticket auto and furniture components. GDP estimates will be revised down again. With consumption now tracking 1.8 percent, look for the Atlanta Fed to revise from 2.5 percent to 2.2 percent," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

In a separate report, the department said that manufacturers' and trade inventories were estimated at 1,917 billion dollars in January, up 0.6 percent from the December reading.

Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index for final demand advanced 0.2 percent in February, seasonally adjusted, in line with market estimates, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index increased 2.8 percent for the 12 months ended in February.

Investors also kept a close eye on the White House, after President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him by Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo.

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