US shares drop on mixed retail earnings

US stocks on Tuesday moved lower in early trade following a mixed batch of quarterly earnings reports from retailers. About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73.24 (0.44 per cent) to 16,438.62. The broad-based S&P 500 declined 7.41 (0.39 per cent) to 1,877.67, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 26.13 (0.63 per cent) to 4,099.68. Dow member Home Depot said cold weather crimped sales in the first quarter even as it bumped up its full-year earnings forecast. Shares of the Dow component rose 1.5 per cent. But Staples plunged 10.6 per cent after reporting first-quarter earnings of 18 cents per share, three cents shy of analyst expectations. Part of the weakness was due to North American store closures over the last 12 months. TJX Companies, which owns the retail chains TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and others, fell 5.8 per cent as first-quarter earnings and revenues missed expectations on a bigger-than-expected hit from unfavorable foreign exchange rates and disappointing sales. Retailer Target, which has had a disappointing ramp-up in Canada, announced that Target Canada president Tony Fisher was leaving the company and will be replaced by Mark Schindele, senior vice president for merchandising operations. The change was one of a series of personnel moves unveiled Tuesday. Shares fell 1.8 percent. The European Commission charged JPMorgan, along with Credit Agricole and HSBC, with colluding to rig key interest rates. In response, both HSBC and JPMorgan said they would defend themselves forcefully while Credit Agricole said it would study the Commission statement. JPMorgan fell 0.7 percent, while US shares of HSBC Holdings declined 0.8 percent. Credit Agricole was off 1.1 percent in Paris, according to AFP.