US stocks mostly down on inflation, sales data

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were mostly lower early Wednesday after US data showing much stronger inflation was offset somewhat by a poor retail sales report.

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent to 24,585.92.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,659.08, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.1 percent to 7,019.12.

The consumer price index (CPI), which tracks the costs of household goods and services, rose 0.5 percent in January, overshooting analyst expectations, according to the Labor Department's closely-watched monthly report.

The data was more eagerly anticipated than usual following last week's stock market turmoil when worries about the potential for more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes sparked a massive selloff.

Analysts attributed the muted trading action early Wednesday to January retail sales, which fell 0.3 percent, well short of expectations. That weakness could offset the notion the Fed will hasten its pace of interest rate increases.

"This was a downright awful report, with sales falling almost 1% short of expectations between the January miss and the December revision," said FTN Financial chief economist Chris Low.

Chipotle Mexican Grill surged 13.9 percent after tapping Brian Niccol as chief executive. Niccol has been the chief of Yum Brands' Taco Bell. Yum fell 0.8 percent.