NEW YORK: US stocks slipped in early trade Wednesday despite a strong report on retail sales in February.
Fifteen minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 24.91 points (0.17 percent) to 14,425.15.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 3.43 (0.22 percent) to 1,549.05, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 7.69 (0.24 percent) to 3,234.63.
Retail and food services sales in February rose 1.1 percent from January, the Commerce Department reported, much stronger than the 0.5 percent increase estimated by analysts.
The retail sales are "another marker reflecting an encouraging pickup in economic activity," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.
The result "is clearly a source of relief for the equity market," O'Hare added.
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