Stocks Opened Lower after Retail Sales, Claims Data

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday after weaker-than-expected data on consumer spending and jobless claims. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately was down 80.98 points, or 0.51%, at 15,882.96. The S&P 500 was off 7.70 points, or 0.42%, at 1,811.56. The Nasdaq Composite fell 17.78 points, or 0.42% at 4,183.51.

Sales at U.S. retailers fell sharply in January and December turned out to be worse than initially reported, offering more evidence the economy may have softened toward the end of the year. Sales dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.1% decline.

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits rose 8,000 last week to 339,000, evidence that layoffs ticked up. The Labor Department said Thursday that the four week average of applications, a less volatile measure, increased 3,500 to a seasonally adjusted 336,750.

General Motors Co said on Thursday it is recalling 778,562 older-model Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 compact cars in North America to correct a condition that may allow the engine and other components, including airbags, to be unintentionally turned off.

Comcast Corp. said it agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion in stock, in a deal that would combine the nation’s two biggest cable operators.

J.C. Penney Co. JCP -1.51% said Ken Hannah will depart as its chief financial officer, a move that comes as the
struggling department-store retailer looks to turn around its business. Penney named former Stage Stores Inc. (SSI) executive Edward Record as his replacement, effective March 24.