Consumer companies fell as traders shrank from a toxic mix of rising prices and slowing economic activity.
U.S. retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in February compared with a month earlier, shy of the mean economist estimate, according to the Commerce Department data. Weekly jobless claims fell 1,000 to 219,000, according to the Labor Department.
Wholesale prices rose 0.6% in February, a surprisingly hot rate of inflation. "The good news for the consumer is that firms appear to have absorbed some of these higher costs," said economists at brokerage Bank of America Global Research.
Shares of Dollar General slipped after the discount retailer reported a surprise increase in same-store sales for the latest quarter but provided a downbeat profit outlook for the current quarter.
Shares of home builder Lennar fell sharply after it projected profit margins short of analysts' expectations. Dick's Sporting Goods shares rose after the chain of sporting-goods stores raised its dividend.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-14-24 1735ET
