NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks retreated from record highs in early trade Wednesday but major retailers like Lowes and Target were sharply higher on buoyant earnings reports.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,634.94, down 52.88 points (0.30 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 slid 8.69 (0.42 percent) to 2,043.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 33.82 (0.72 percent) to 4,668.62.
The overall market paused after the Dow and S&P 500 notched new records Tuesday. Analysts cited investor caution ahead of the release of Federal Reserve minutes from the October meeting.
Department store chain Target gained 5.3 percent after it reported third-quarter earnings per share of 54 cents, well above analyst forecasts for 47 cents.
Lowe's, a home-improvement chain, gained 5.0 percent on a 17.3 percent jump in third-quarter net income to $585 million. The company forecast 2014 sales gains of 4.5-5.0 percent.
Office supplies giant Staples jumped 8.5 percent as third-quarter earnings of 37 cents per share bested analyst expectations by a penny.
Family Dollar dipped 0.8 percent as it delayed its shareholder vote on a merger with rival discount retailer Dollar Tree until December 23 as it seeks approval from US antitrust regulators on the transaction. Dollar Tree fell 0.7 percent.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.35 percent from 2.32 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.07 percent from 3.04 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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