US stocks dip on weak consumer spending

US stocks moved lower in early trade on Friday following reports showing lower consumer spending and weak results for leading retailers. About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35.30 (0.21 per cent) to 16,663.44. The broad-based S&P 500, which notched a new record on Thursday, dipped 1.61 (0.08 per cent) to 1,918.42 , while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 7.04 (0.17 per cent) to 4,240.90. The Commerce Department reported that consumer spending, the largest driver of the US economy, fell by $9.1 billion last month, or 0.1 percent, following the $120.2 billion rise the previous month. Casual clothing chain Express slumped 12.6 percent after reporting an 11 percent decline in first-quarter comparable sales and projecting annual earnings of 74-90 cents per share. Analysts had forecast profits of $1.14 per share. Fashion retailer Guess meanwhile fell 3.4 per cent following a net loss of $2.1 million for the first quarter. Splunk, which works in ‘big data’ analysis, sank 12.4 per cent despite raising its forecast. The company now expects annual sales of $402-410 million, up from the previous projection of $400 million. Deutsche Bank said investors were disappointed Splunk did not show stronger growth in billings and some other widely-watched metrics during the first quarter. Value retailer Big Lots shot up 11.8 percent as earnings of 50 cents per share bested analyst forecasts by six cents. Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.49 per cent from 2.46 per cent Thursday, while the 30-year held steady at 3.33 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely, according to AFP.