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Last Updated: Mar 11th, 2011 - 15:30:48 |
Stock markets were mixed Friday morning after the Commerce Department said retail sales rose slightly more than expected in February.
Retail and food service sales for the month rose 1 percent, one tick higher than the 0.9 percent rise predicted.
February manufacturers and trade business inventories also rose more than expected, climbing 0.9 percent. A rise of 0.7 percent had been predicted.
In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 43.86 points or 0.37 percent to 11,940.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 2.12 or 0.16 percent to 1,292.99. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock fell 9.36 or 0.35 percent to 2,691.66.
The yield on 10-year treasury notes was 3.38 percent.
The dollar fell against the euro and the yen. The euro rose to $1.3829 from Thursday's $1.3789. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 82.06 yen from 82.93 yen.
In Japan, where a strong earthquake hit the northeast coast 30 minutes before the close of trading, last minute selling drove stocks lower. The Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.72 percent, 179.95 points, to 10,254.43.
Source: UPI
