New York, Jan 14, 2022 (AFP)
Wall Street stocks were mostly lower early Friday following disappointing retail sales data and mixed earnings from large banks.
Retail sales fell 1.9 percent in the final month of the year, the Commerce Department said, missing expectations, as shoppers pulled back amid the latest Covid-19 wave and as higher prices bit into consumption.
Shares of both Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase fell sharply after reporting lower fourth-quarter profits even as full-year profits soared.
In both cases, higher costs cut into results in the final part of 2021.
About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.9 percent at 35,776.75.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent to 4,640.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index inched up 0.1 percent to 14,820.20.
Stocks are down so far for the week as markets weigh a rapidly shifting monetary policy outlook, with the Federal Reserve signaling likely interest rate hikes in 2022.
Tech shares have been particularly weak in recent sessions as markets revalue equities in anticipation of higher lending costs.

Sumber : AFP