Retailers send New York markets lower

Sentiment declined on Wall Street on Thursday as retail sales data was weaker for April than had been expected. There was also bad news on the March trade deficit. In midday trade in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1 percent to 13,232.52. The S&P 500 was also 1 percent lower, to 1,496.96, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3 percent to 2,542.86. Out of 51 retailers who issued sales reports 85 percent did not live up to estimates. This resulted in retailers from the discount and warehouse end of the spectrum all the way to upscale sellers seeing declines in share prices based on the data.

The markets were mixed in London, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.39 percent to 6,524.1 but the FTSE 250 0.04 percent higher to 12,062.4. The five biggest losers on the 100 were all in the mining sector, which was down after Wednesday’s speculation about a possible bids activity quieted. On the other hand, the real estate sector saw gains on the possibility that private equity firm KKR is thinking of bidding within the sector.

Markets in continental Europe were lower on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.76 percent to 1,572.89, while the CAC-40 in Paris fell 0.64 percent to 9,367.3 and the Frankfurt Xetra Dax was 0.81 percent lower to 7,415.33. Gains came in the chemicals and automobile manufacturing sectors, while the utilities sector saw declines.

Equities markets in Asia and the Pacific were mixed on the session, with Asian markets mostly lower but Australian markets again closing at record high levels. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 300 closed at 6,355.5 and the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.22 percent to 6,351.8, helped by news from the retail sector and even though miners declined on the session. In India the Sensex dropped 0.07 percent to 13,771.23, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng index fell 0.47 percent to 20,746.27. The Straits Times index in Singapore bucked the trend and closed at 3,469.26, a slight gain.

In Tokyo, profit-taking sent the markets lower even though a number of companies issued strong earnings reports. The Nikkei 225 was 0.1 percent lower to 17,736.96, while the Topix index dropped 0.5 percent to 1,736.99. Automobile manufacturers were lower on expectations of declines in operating profits, while quarterly reports helped in the airlines sector. Real estate saw gains, but mining and metals dropped on profit-taking.

Story link: Retailers send New York markets lower