NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks fell early Wednesday as the market grappled with the implications of an exceptionally strong retail sales report on US monetary policy.
Sales bounced by three percent last month to $697.0 billion after two months of contraction, following strong gains in auto sales, department store sales and other categories.
Analysts had expected a rise of just 1.7 percent.
Wall St slides as inflation data, policymakers stoke rate worries
The strong data should reassure the market that a “hard landing”, or sharp slowdown, is not imminent for now, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
“But at the same time it will contribute to the burgeoning concern that the (Federal Reserve) will raise rates more than expected, leave them at a high level for longer than expected, and potentially trigger a hard landing later,” he added.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent at 33,956.83.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.3 percent to 4,122.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent to 11,948.76.
Among individual companies, Airbnb surged 11.6 percent after reporting better-than-expected profits as it characterized travel demand as “strong.”
Devon Energy slumped more than 10 percent as its earnings lagged estimates.
Analysts also pointed to upset at the energy producer’s capital spending plan, which exceeded expectations.
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