US stocks lower after ECB cuts rates

NEW YORK: US stocks ended lower Thursday, shrugging off moves by
central banks in China and Europe to boost growth and honing in on US
data showing weakness in consumer spending.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 47.15 points (0.36 per cent) to 12,896.67.


The S&P 500-stock index lost 6.44 (0.47 per cent) to 1,367.58,
while the tech-rich Nasdaq added a bar 0.04 points (0.00 per cent) to
2,976.12.


Stocks had risen on Tuesday in anticipation that the European
Central Bank would cut interest rates and the Bank of England would
boost stimulus efforts.






The Bank of China joined in Thursday with its own surprise rate cut.


"These actions are all related to disappointing economic conditions
that might otherwise be producing downward pressure on prices," said
Dick Green of Briefing.com.


But US markets showed more concern about the ICSC June sales report
showing same-store sales for big retailers excluding Walmart were only
up 0.2 per cent from a year ago -- a third straight month of weak
growth.


"The second quarter is proving to be a real downer for retailers
and consumers alike," said Chris Christopher at IHS Global Insight.


Costco lost 0.4 per cent, Target was down 1.1 per cent and Rite Aid 3.5 per cent on disappointing sales.


Energy shares also pulled lower. ExxonMobil lost 0.8 per cent, Chevron 1.3 per cent, and ConocoPhillips 2.0 per cent.


The Libor rate-fixing scandal cast a shadow over banks involved fixing the US dollar Libor.


JPMorgan Chase fell 4.2 per cent, Citigroup, 2.9 per cent, and Bank of America lost 3.0 per cent.


Google was up 1.4 per cent and Apple 1.8 per cent after The Wall
Street Journal reported that Apple is preparing to launch a smaller
tablet computer in a bid to maintain its edge in the hot market.


Netflix soared 13.4 per cent after the company said streaming service had grown faster than forecasts. -- AFP