Stocks continue to drift along near the flat line in mid-afternoon trading on Friday, as the continued influx of mixed economic data has traders sitting on the sidelines. The major averages are mixed, although by minute margins.
Some early buying interest was seen in reaction to news that retail sales unexpectedly showed a modest increase in the month of February. The unexpected growth was partly due to a jump in sales by electronics and appliance stores.
Despite the positive surprise in today's retail sales data, Reuters and the University of Michigan released a report showing a continued deterioration in consumer sentiment in March. The latest reading surprised economists, who forecast a modest pickup in the figure.
Meanwhile, a separate Commerce Department report showed that business inventories were essentially unchanged in the month of January, with modest decreases in wholesale and retail inventories offsetting a modest increase in manufacturers' inventories.
In other news, the Obama administration has reportedly tapped San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen to take over as Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve following the retirement of the current vice chairman Donald Kohn.
On the corporate front, Canadian fertilizer and agricultural products distributor Agrium, Inc. (AGU) announced that it will no longer pursue U.S.-based rival CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) and will let its exchange offer for CF shares expire on March 22nd.
The major averages remain in a holding pattern less than 90 minutes before the close. The Dow is currently up 6.73 points or 0.1 percent at 10,618.57, while the Nasdaq is down 0.48 points or less than 0.1 percent at 2,367.98 and the S&P 500 is down 0.17 points or less than 0.1 percent at 1,150.07.
Dow Components
Despite a lackluster outing by the Dow, shares of component Caterpillar (CAT) are seeing a significant gain, rising by 2.6 percent. With the upward move, the stock is poised to end the session at its best closing price in nearly two months.
American Express (AXP) is also moving notably higher, advancing by 1.7 percent. The gain also has the stock on pace for its highest closing level in almost two months.
Home Depot (HD), Merck (MRK) and General Electric (GE) are also moving higher, while Pfizer (PFE) is seeing a weak outing, sliding by 1.2 percent. Shares of the drug maker are now looking to close at a four-month low.
Bank of America (BAC), United Technologies (UTX) and Boeing (BA) are also moving lower, offsetting the gains by the other blue chip stocks.
Sector News
Health insurance stocks are posting steep losses in mid-afternoon trading, with the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index falling by 1.5 percent. The drop is dragging the stock down off of yesterday's nearly seven-week high.
Electronic storage, gold and housing stocks are also under pressure, while commercial real estate stocks are helping to offset some of the downside.
The Morgan Stanley REIT Index is up by 1 percent, set to close at a seventeen-month high. Glimcher Realty Trust (GRT) is boosting the sector, rising by 5.1 percent. The stock is on pace to set a sixteen-month closing high.
Steel, oil service and airline stocks are also buoying the major averages, although by much more modest margins.
In Focus: Economic Data
As mentioned above, the Commerce Department said that retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in February following a downwardly revised 0.1 percent increase in January. The sales growth came as a surprise to economists, who had expected sales to edge down by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.5 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a 2.0 percent drop in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, sales increased by a more substantial 0.8 percent in February compared to a 0.5 percent increase in the previous month. Economists had expected ex-auto sales to edge up by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, Reuters and the University of Michigan recently released a report showing that the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for March fell to 72.5 from February's final reading of 73.6. Economists had expected the index to edge up to a reading of 74.0.
Another report from the Commerce Department said that business inventories were essentially unchanged in the month of January following a revised 0.3 percent decrease in December. Inventories had been expected to edge up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.2 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw a mixed outing on Friday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets closed mostly higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while the French CAC 40 Index edged lower by less than a tenth of a percent.
Ahead of the close of the bond markets, treasuries are modestly higher after recovering from earlier losses. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note is trading at 3.704 percent, down by 1.6 basis points on the day.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.