The retreat in stocks followed record high closes the previous day for all three major indexes on a recent rally that has many investors anxious about pricey valuations.
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The energy index declined 1.41%, hurt by a drop in oil prices after the U.S. government reported a surprise crude stockpile build, while Saudi Arabia revealed record crude production in July.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 118 points or 0.6 percent to 18,614.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index is up by 2.3 percent, while the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index are up by 1.8 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 6.45 points, or 0.12 percent, at 5,221.95.
Beyond the retailers, Nvidia Corp. shares (NVDA) rose 5.6% after the maker of graphics chips late Thursday posted better-than-expected earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidia-rises-to-record-highs-before-and-after-earnings- report-2016-08-11).
“It’s very understandable that people are not particularly keen to rush into buying at these historically high levels”, said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.
Investors mostly focused on the latest batch of company earnings from retailers and other companies, as well as new data indicating that USA retail sales in July were more sluggish than expected. Those declines were offset by big increases in auto sales and on online and catalog sales. Initial claims continued to remain below the key level of 300,000 for 75 straight weeks, its longest stretch since 1970.
INDUSTRIAL SLIDE: Several industrial and drilling companies were trading lower.
The S&P 500 is up 141.85 points, or 6.9 per cent. Kimco Realty slid 72 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $30.35. IEA estimated that global crude demand will increase by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) next year, 100,000 bpd lower than July’s projection.
Shares of Macy’s ended the session up more than 17 percent. The stock lost $4.47 to $10.31.
SHAKEN: Hamburger chain Shake Shack slumped 7.1 percent after it said sales at older locations slowed down in the latest quarter. The stock lost 50 cents to $3.23.
Nordtsrom surged 8 percent a day after the department store chain reported earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations. The company also raised its profit guidance for the year. For 61% stocks that advanced, 36% declined. Meanwhile, Dillard’s rose 3.5 percent after the retailer posted a second-quarter profit that was larger than analysts expected. The tech- heavy index gained 2.3% over the week. The stock shed $2.36 to $38.51.
Wall Street rose to records as shares of Macys and Kohls rallied, while oil prices gained amid fresh Saudi Arabia comments on talks about curbing output. Silicon Graphics added $1.71 to $7.69.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 each dipped 0.4 percent. Britain’s FTSE was flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.7 basis points at 1.536 percent. Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 1.1 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 percent.
Benchmark U.S. crude was up $1.80, or 4.3 percent, at $43.51 a barrel in NY. Southeast Asian markets were mixed. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 2.5 percent to close at $41.71 per barrel in NY.
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ENERGY FUTURES: In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline added 6 cents to $1.36 a gallon, while heating oil rose 6 cents to $1.38 a gallon. Copper fell 5 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $2.14 a pound.
