S&P 500 Eases Off Its Record as the Consumer Finally Blinks
Retail sales just fell for the first time in nine months, and consumer confidence dropped to 51. Here's what a tired shopper means for the stock market.
Overview
The American consumer has been carrying this economy for months. Friday morning brought two reports suggesting the load is getting heavy. Stocks responded with a slow, unglamorous slide.
The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) is down 0.44% as of 12:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) has slipped 0.21%, and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is off 0.19%. All three hovered around the flatline for the first half hour, turned negative shortly after 10 a.m. ET, and ground steadily lower until about 11:30. The Nasdaq broke away from the other two mid-morning and fell roughly twice as far.
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Originally published at www.fool.com.