NEW YORK, March 13 (UPI) — U.S. stock indexes were mixed early Wednesday trading with the Dow blue chip index posting modest losses.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped despite a 1.1 percent rise in U.S. retail sales in February.
The U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales rose month-to-month with gains beating expectations, which predicted a 0.5 percent increase.
Analysts are pondering the standard question of how long a winning streak can last, assuming markets are due for a reality check and possibly a correction, which is defined as a 10 percent drop from a recent peak.
The recent peak isn’t hard to find. The DJIA set its sixth consecutive closing high record at 14,450.06 points.
In late morning trading Wednesday, the DJIA gave up 7.99 points, or 0.06 percent, to 14,442.07. The Standard and Poor’s 500 index added 0.51 points, or 0.03 percent, to 1,553.25. The Nasdaq composite gained 1.51 points, or 0.05 percent, to 3,243.83.
The 10-year U.S. treasury bonds fell 8/32 to yield 2.049 percent.
Against the dollar, the euro fell to $1.2944 from Tuesday’s $1.3033. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at 96.18 yen from 96.09 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 shed 0.61 percent, 75.15 points to 12,239.66.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
