Stocks open lower as retail sales miss estimates
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NEW YORK
(AP)
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US stocks slipped Tuesday after retail sales data for January grew slower than expected.
By David Karp, APTraders Joel Lucchese, left, and Perry Barb work the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Feb.
BRUSSELS — The furious activity in the trading pits of the world’s great stock exchanges often gives the feeling that every second is gold dust in the relentless rush to make money.
EnlargeCloseBy David Karp, APTraders Joel Lucchese, left, and Perry Barb work the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Feb.
If all goes as planned, the company will begin to sell stock by May and start trading on the stock exchange soon thereafter.
The government said an hour before the market opening that retail sales rose 0.4% last month.
That was the best showing in three months and represented a rebound from a weak holiday season.
Among US stocks to watch, Goodyear Tire and Rubber (GT) posted a fourth quarter profit before market open, reversing a year ago loss, but results were short of Wall Street expectations.
And Boeing (BA) announced its biggest plane order ever, a $22.4 billion deal with Indonesia’s Lion Air.
MORE: World stocksMORE: Most active stocksMeanwhile, the wrangling continued in Europe over a deal for a second major bailout for Greece.
That country passed strict austerity measures over the weekend despite widespread protest from its citizens, and is searching for further cuts, even as a new report showed the nation’s economy shrank 7% in the fourth quarter.
Eurozone leaders are debating how to cut the country’s debt to a level that eurozone officials and the International Monetary Fund see as sustainable ahead of a vote on Wednesday.
Stock trend
Dow Jones industrial average, five trading days
Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the creditworthiness six European Union countries late Monday, including Italy and Spain, and warned that top rated Britain, France and Austria could see their ratings cut as well.
The latest downgrade followed similar cuts by S&P and Fitch last month, but appeared to have little impact on world markets.
In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.9% to 5,905 while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.08% to 6,733.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6% to 9,052.07, its highest close since Sept.
The gains followed an announcement by the Bank of Japan that it would buy more government bonds while keeping short term interest rates near zero to boost the economy.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.2% to 20,917.83 and South Korea’s Kospi was 0.2% lower at 2,002.64.
To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones.
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Lewis Joyce is a business journalist based in Gold Coast, Australia. Lewis has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Lewis spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.
