FYI: U.S. stocks wavered Thursday as disappointing retail sales in the crucial holiday period and mixed corporate earnings revived concerns over a slowdown in global growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 103 points, or less than 0.41%, to 25439, after earlier falling as much as 235 points. The S&P 500 was down 0.27%, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.09%, helped by gains among chip makers. The tech-heavy index is on course to exit bear-market territory, rallying more than 20% from its Dec. 24 low.
The S&P 500 came under pressure from declines in consumer-staples and financial shares, with both groups losing nearly 1%.
Meanwhile, shares of department stores and big-box retailers tumbled after data from the Commerce Department showed retail sales declined in December at the fastest pace since 2009.
The S&P 500 retailing group, which tracks companies such as Macy’s , Kohl’s and Nordstrom , was down 0.2%, after sliding more than 1% earlier in the session. Meanwhile, Fossil Group tumbled 11% after the watchmaker’s sales slid in the fourth quarter, weighed down in part by weakness in Europe.
Investors also were parsing an earnings release from Dow component Coca-Cola , whose figures were roughly in line with market expectations. Shares, however, dropped 7.6%, on course for their largest percentage loss since October 2008, after the company said it expects sales to slow this year.
The weaker-than-expected retail-sales figures and a mixed batch of corporate earnings renewed concerns of a slowdown in economic activity. U.S. economic data has remained robust relative to those in China and Europe.
Five of the eleven S&P 500 Sectors, led by Real Estate were positive.
Regards,
Ted
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-mostly-rise-as-trade-border-security-talks-progress-11550135280Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-13/asian-stocks-eye-muted-open-on-trade-wait-and-see-markets-wrapMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/sp-500-nasdaq-poised-to-extend-rally-to-a-fifth-day-on-us-china-trade-talk-progress-2019-02-14/printIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/big-tech-stocks-boost-nasdaq-coca-cola-drags-dow/Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-st-skids-as-bleak-retail-sales-data-clouds-trade-optimism-idUSKCN1Q31YZCNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/14/stock-market.htmlU.K.:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/london-stocks-cling-to-gains-astrazeneca-surges-on-results-2019-02-14/printEurope:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trade-optimism-helps-european-stocks-shrug-off-growth-fears-2019-02-14/printAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-pull-back-as-us-china-trade-talks-resume-2019-02-13/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/14/bonds-jobless-claims-and-fed-speeches-in-focus.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/14/forex-markets-greenback-euro-australian-dollar-china-data-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/14/oil-markets-beijing-washington-trade-talks-china-data-in-focus.htmlGold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/14/gold-markets-the-fed-us-china-trade-talks-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
