US stocks accelerated their drop on Tuesday as mixed economic data fed worries that the economic recovery may be anaemic, while Best Buy's disappointing results pointed to a still weak consumer. While a rebound in May housing starts pointed to some stabilisation in that sector and a smaller-than-expected rise in producer prices suggested inflation pressures were muted.
Another report showed industrial production logged a steeper-than-expected slide last month. The Federal Reserve report also said May's capacity utilisation rate for total industry, a measure of slack in the US economy, slumped to its lowest level on records dating back to 1967.
Best Buy Co Inc, the largest US consumer electronics retailer, posted a slide in same-store sales, a key measure of retail performance, and its shares dropped 7.1 percent to $35.93. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 77.69 points, or 0.90 percent, to 8,534.44, just off a drop of 1 percent to a session low of 8,521,37. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 9.62 points, or 1.04 percent, to 914.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 13.86 points, or 0.76 percent, to 1,802.52.
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