US open: Stocks slide as retail sales figures disappoint

US equities markets slid early on Friday, as investors digested a disappointing retail sales data.

Shortly before 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 34 points to 17,413.73, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down four and 21 points respectively.

Retail sales miss expectations

On the macroeconomic front, retail sales rose by less-than-expected last month.

According to data released by the US Commerce Department, retail sales grew 0.1% last month compared with a 0.1% gain in the previous month falling short of analysts’ expectations for a 0.3% rise.

"October retail sales report was a little bit weaker than expected, but doesn't change our view that fourth-quarter GDP growth will be a respectable 2.5% annualised," said Steve Murphy, US economist at Capital Economics.

"October is the month that the PPI switches from one year’s model to the next, and the estimated price and quality changes often cause big jumps either up or down each October."

Still to come, the University of Michigan preliminary reading on consumer confidence for November is scheduled at 1500 GMT, with a report for business inventories for September out at the same time.

In company news, fashion accessories designer Fossil slumped 29.5% after the company’s quarterly missed estimates.

Nordstrom tumbled 18.1% after the fashion retailer cut its profit forecast on the back of weak quarterly earnings.

Networking equipment Cisco Systems fell 4.81% after its revenue and profit outlook for the current quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations,

PayPal slid 0.97%, following a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday suggested that Apple was in talks with US banks to develop a rival payment service.

Going the other way, Yum Brands, the owner of Pizza Hut and KFC, rose 2.47% after its like-for-like sales in China rose between 5% and 6% in September.

US-listed shares of Syngenta jumped 6.10% after the pesticide maker rejected an initial $42bn takeover offer from China National Chemical, according to a Bloomberg report.

Elsewhere, Asian equity markets ended the week on a downbeat note, as investors in the region remained jittery over what looks a probable December rate hike by the Fed, while European stocks pulled back.

The dollar was broadly flat against the pound and gained 0.13% and 0.72% against the yen and the euro respectively, while gold spot declined 0.31% to $1,081.85.

Oil prices were mixed after Thursday’s slump, with West Texas Intermediate sliding 0.77% to $41.43 a barrel, while Brent rose 0.74% to $44.39 a barrel.