Stocks Opened Lower after Biden Proposal, Weak Retail Sales

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday as investors assessed details of President-elect Joe Biden’s newly unveiled stimulus proposal and new data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 196.24 points, or 0.63%, to 30,795.28. The S&P 500 lost 12.86 points, or 0.34%, to 3,782.68. The Nasdaq Composite was down 9.81 points, or 0.07%, to 13,122.45.

Oil futures traded lower Friday, as investors weighed news of fresh COVID-19 outbreaks in China which has been an engine of demand as other major economies were slowed by the coronavirus pandemic. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery fell 55 cents, or 1%, to $53.02 a barrel. March Brent crude was down 85 cents, or 1.5%, at $55.57 a barrel.

Late Thursday, Biden outlined his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief proposal, which included a host of additional relief measures to add to the provisions included in the $900 billion package Congress passed in December.

Retail sales in December fell for the third month in a row as the record deluge of coronavirus cases opened freshly wounds in the economy. Data showed retail sales fell 0.7% in December, versus expectations for a fall of 0.1%, while sales minus gas and autos dropped 2.1%.

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