Stocks slip as weak retail sales push investors to seek safety
U.S. stocks slipped Wednesday as investors worried about weak retail sales and oil prices sank. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time in six months.
The Commerce Department said retail spending decreased in May, which surprised experts. Investors reacted by buying traditionally safer assets such as government bonds and shares of companies that pay high dividends while selling stocks from other industries that depend more on economic growth. Bond yields hit their lowest level of 2017. Oil prices also hit an annual low after the government’s weekly report on oil stockpiles.
In the last few weeks, Wall Street has been disappointed by several economic reports. That did not appear to change the Fed’s thinking even though higher interest rates tend to slow down economic growth. Investors have been hoping for years that growth will speed up.
“This economy has always been something of a healthy tortoise,” said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “I think growth will pick up a bit, but there is sort of a failure to bounce in this economy.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid 2.43 points, or 0.1%, to 2,437.92. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.09 points, or 0.2%, to a record 21,374.56. Home Depot and Goldman Sachs contributed most of the blue-chip index’s gain. After a late tumble in technology stocks, the Nasdaq composite finished the day down 25.48 points, or 0.4%, at 6,194.89.
Small-company stocks fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index sank 8.41 points, or 0.6%, to 1,417.57. That suggests investors are worried about the economy, which could have an outsized effect on smaller, domestically focused companies.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time since December, something investors widely expected based on the Fed’s recent statements. Fed leaders suggested they still expect to raise rates again this year.
The Commerce Department said people spent less money at gas stations, department stores and electronics retailers last month.
Read more: U.S. retail sales slide 0.3%, the biggest drop in 16 months »
Shares of video game seller GameStop fell 1.6% to $21.55, and department store chain Kohl’s stock slipped 1% to $37.66.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said consumer prices slipped, partly because of lower energy prices. That’s one reason there has been little inflation in the economy lately, a continued concern for Federal Reserve policymakers.
Bond prices jumped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.13% from 2.21%. Earlier, the 10-year note hit its lowest level since November.
Among big dividend payers, cereal maker General Mills rose 1% to $58.64 and PepsiCo advanced 0.9% to $117.37. American Water Works rose 1.4% to $81.32.
Mattel sank 2.2% to $22.15 after the toy maker slashed its dividend and announced changes to its board.
Oil futures plunged after the U.S. government said oil supplies shrank only slightly last week while gasoline stockpiles grew. Benchmark U.S. crude dived $1.73, or 3.7%, to settle at $44.73 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, sank $1.72, or 3.5%, to $47 a barrel in London.
Exxon Mobil shares fell 1.1% to $82.07 and Anadarko Petroleum sank 3.9% to $47.28.
The Fed also gave more details about its plans to shrink its bond portfolio. Later this year it will reduce the amount of principal payments it invests in new bonds. It does not plan to sell any bonds.
Investors have been pleased that the Fed is disclosing details of its plans and doesn’t intend to move too quickly. Still, Kelly, of JPMorgan Asset Management, said he thinks that will have a big effect on the bond market: As the Fed lets its balance sheet shrink and buys fewer bonds, prices will fall and yields will rise.
The dollar slid to 109.53 yen from 109.96 yen. The euro rose to $1.1220 from $1.1212.
Biotech drugmaker Biogen fell 3.1% to $253.37 and competitor Alexion Pharmaceuticals jumped 9.3% to $118 after the companies said Biogen Chief Financial Officer Paul Clancy will become Alexion’s CFO at the end of July. Analysts said Wall Street has a lot of respect for Clancy, who has been Biogen’s CFO for 10 years.
Gold rose $7.30 to $1,275.90 an ounce. Silver jumped 37 cents, or 2.2%, to $17.14 an ounce. Copper slipped 2 cents to $2.57 a pound.
Wholesale gasoline sank 7 cents, or 4.5%, to $1.43 a gallon. Heating oil fell 4 cents, or 2.6%, to $1.41 a gallon. Natural gas fell 3 cents, or 1.1%, to $2.93 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Germany’s DAX advanced 0.3%, the CAC-40 in France lost 0.4% and the British FTSE 100 fell 0.3%. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.1%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 0.1%. In South Korea, the Kospi retreated 0.1%.
UPDATES:
3:05 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.
7:35 a.m.: This article was updated with market prices and context.
This article was originally published at 7 a.m.
