Wall Street extended early losses Tuesday, as investors digested retail sales data and corporate news.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell 0.2 percent in April as consumers cut back spending due to soaring gasoline prices, but better than economists had expected if automobiles are excluded. Oil prices edged up Tuesday after falling briefly below 124 U.S. dollars per barrel.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke said that turmoil in financial markets have eased somewhat, but the situation is still "far from normal."
In corporate news, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported its first-quarter profit beat Wall Street forecasts. However, the world's largest retailer warned that the current quarter will come in below expectations.
Hewlett-Packard Co. offered to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp. for 12.6 billion dollars. The deal will create the second largest technology services provider after International Business Machines Corp.
The Dow Jones fell 67.66 to 12808.65. Broader indexes also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 4.38 to 1,399.20;and the Nasdaq fell 13.07 to 2,475.42.
Source: Xinhua
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