Stocks Opened Slightly Lower as Retail Sales Disappointed

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Friday as investors grappled with weaker-than-expected retail sales data and an unexpected drop in wholesale prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately slipped 24.17 points, or 0.13%, to 18,589.35. The S&P 500 was off 3.47 points, or 0.16%, to 2,182.32. The Nasdaq Composite was down 7.70 points, or 0.15%, to 5,220.70.

U.S. retail sales stalled in July after three straight monthly gains, according to government data released Friday. U.S. retail sales were little-changed in July, down from a gain of 0.8% in June, the Commerce Department reported.

U.S. wholesale prices fell 0.4% in July, the biggest drop since September 2015, according to a government report released Friday. The price of goods dropped 0.4% last month. Wholesale-gas prices sank 6.6% and food declined 1.1%. The cost of services was down 0.3% led by a substantial 1.3% drop in trade services.

J.C. Penney reported a smaller loss in the second quarter as the department store chain enjoyed an improvement in sales fueled by such moves as bringing back appliances and refreshing certain areas of the store. The company reported a loss of $56 million, or 18 cents per share, in the quarter ended July 30. That compares with a loss of $117 million, or 38 cents per share a year ago.