Stocks Opened Lower, Oil Prices Dipped

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday as several major retailers reported disappointing results coming out of the holiday season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately slipped 147.19 points, or 0.62%, to 23,731.93. The S&P 500 fell 20.21 points, or 0.78%, to 2,564.75. The Nasdaq Composite gave up 72.87 points, or 1.05%, to 6,884.21.

Oil futures prices dipped Thursday, pausing an eight-day rally that took the U.S. benchmark to its highest in nearly four weeks. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery slipped 30 cents, or 0.6%, to $52.05 a barrel. March Brent crude fell 18 cents, or 0.3%, at $61.26 a barrel.

Macy’s Inc. (M) slashed its outlook for profit and sales, citing a weakening in sales in late-December. The company reported holiday-period same-store sales growth of 0.7%, compared with 1.0% growth in the same period a year ago. Macy’s cut its fiscal 2018 same-store sales growth outlook to approximately 2.0% from 2.3% to 2.55.

Target Corp (TGT) said on Thursday comparable sales grew 5.7 percent during November and December, helped by higher customer visits and strong online sales during the holiday season.