US open: Stocks slip on weak retail sales, PPI data

At 1459 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13% to 18,588.04 points, the S&P 500 dropped 0.14% to 2,182.73 points and the Nasdaq decreased 0.11% to 5,222.56 points.

Retail sales in the US were unchanged from the previous month, down from a 0.6% increase in June and missing expectations for a 0.4% gain, the Commerce Department revealed.

Core retail sales – which exclude auto sales – declined 0.3% following a 0.7% increase in June, marking the worst reading since January and falling short of expectations for a 0.2% advance.

Friday's news on the economic front saw yields on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries drop by seven basis points to 1.4865% and odds of a Fed rate increase in December fall back to 38.5%.

Peter Read, co-founder of app-only trading network Pelican, said: “Fed Chair Janet Yellen will be disappointed to not be able to add today’s retail sales data to the body of evidence she is building that supports raising interest rates later in the year.

“The possible intervention on rates received a notable backer in San Francisco Fed chief John Williams this week, which comes off the back of a second successive better than expected non-farm payroll result last week.”

In a separate report, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand declined 0.4% in July compared to a 0.5% increase in June and analysts’ expectations for a 0.1% rise. It marked the first decline since March and the largest since September 2015.

The University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index also missed forecasts. The preliminary reading for August came in at 90.4, up from 90 the previous month but below estimates for 91.5.

Meanwhile, oil prices continued to gain after Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid al-Falih on Thursday said that oil producers would discuss ways to stabilise oil prices during a meeting next month in Algeria.

West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.14% to $43.98 per barrel and Brent rose 0.73% to $46.38 per barrel at 1517 BST.

In corporate news, Nvidia Corp rallied after the graphics chip maker reported better-than-expected results late on Thursday.

J.C. Penney Co. gained after the retailer reported a second-quarter losses that was narrower than expected.

Nordstrom was another high riser after posting quarterly sales that beat forecasts and raised its profit guidance for the year.