US open: Retailers drag on Wall Street again

Retailers were again weighing on Wall Street's main stockmarket gauges on Friday, amid a mixed bag of first-tier economic data.

At 1606 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off by 0.14% to 20,889.56, alongside a dip of 0.22% for the S&P 500 while the Nasdaq Composite was but marginally lower, slipping 0.05% at 6,114.30.

"We’re ending another week with stocks at record highs and volatility at rock bottom. This week was notably good for the tech-heavy Nasdaq as Apple topped a market cap of $800bn for the first time. Things are very calm right now – and that’s typically what happens before the next panic," LCG's Jasper Lawler told clients in a note.

Markets were focused on weaker-than-expected US inflation data at the end of the week.

The rate of gains in US consumer prices slipped from 2.4% year-on-year in March to 2.2% for April (consensus: 2.3%), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Core CPI also came in shy of forecasts at 1.9% on the year, following a rise of 2.0% in the prior month.

After Friday's lower-than-expected CPI print, analysts at Barclays reaffirmed their prediction that the US Federal Reserve would go ahead with a 25 basis point rate hike in June.

"Today’s data do not alter our view that the Federal reserve will tighten policy in June. Labor markets remain strong, and communications from FOMC members have been clear that they remain focused on a tightening policy path. We think softer-than-expected CPI prints for March and April are unlikely to deter the FOMC from action," said Barclays's Blerina Uruci.

Indeed, Fed funds futures were still pricing 83.0% odds a June hike.

Nonetheless, speaking earlier during the same session the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago, Charles Evans, reportedly indicated just one more interest rate hike in 2017 was a possible scenario.

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker was set to speak at Drexel University in Philadelphia at 1730 BST.

In the corporate space, shares in JC Penney dived after the fashion retailer posted weaker than expected first quarter sales of $2.7bn.

From a sector standpoint the worst performance was being put in by the following industrial groups: Apparel retailers (-2.72%), heavy Construction (-2.69%) and Clothing&Accessories (-1.51%).

Eli Lilly shares were lower even after it said a late-stage study of a migraine treatment met its primary goals.

Going in the other direction, international petroleum service company Tidewater tanked after it announced a bankruptcy plan.