Major U.S. stock indexes were drifting between small gains and losses in morning trading Wednesday as investors considered a government report showing retail sales in April fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Traders also had their eye on corporate earnings and deal news.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,055 as of 11:25 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped less than one point to 2,099. The Nasdaq composite added eight points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,984.
RETAIL SALES: The Commerce Department said that retail sales were unchanged in April after rising 1.1 percent the previous month. Steady hiring has yet to lead to significantly higher incomes. Sales have risen just 0.9 percent over the past 12 months.
THE QUOTE: Many investors may be looking at the weaker-than-anticipated retail sales numbers as an indication that the Federal Reserve won’t take action to lower its key interest rate before September, said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors.
“The market is making the perception that the Fed is looking at this data too, and if you thought they would be considering a rate hike in June, I don’t see how you do that on the basis of this data point,” Orlando said.