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Stocks fell on Thursday on the release of much weaker-than-expected retail sales data as well as lingering uncertainty around U.S.-China trade talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came off their morning lows, but still lost 83.23 points to 25,460.04, led by losses in Coca-Cola.
The S&P 500 subtracted 4.7 points to 2,748.33, as the consumer staples and discretionary sectors lagged.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 9.26 points to 7,429.64
Shares of Groupon and Dick's Sporting Goods underperformed.
Retail sales fell 1.2% in December, marking their biggest monthly drop since September 2009, according to The Commerce Department. The department also said retail sales fell 0.9% in December when excluding gasoline station sales.
Among retail companies, shares of Lands' End and J.C. Penney underperformed.
The data were enough to dampen market sentiment as investors continue to follow news of the U.S.-China trade talks. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that talks were "going very well" as both sides look to reach an agreement before an early March deadline.
Furthermore, the South China Morning Post reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. delegates on Friday, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury jumped, lowering yields to 2.67% from Wednesday’s 2.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 23 cents to $54.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost 80 cents to $1,314.30 U.S. an ounce.
