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Saturday 16 September 2017 BUSINESS
A24

S&P 500 tops 2,500 as tech and bank stocks climb US retail sales
dipped 0.2 pct.

By MARLEY JAY wound up with their big- helping demand.” Reserve said the weather in August as
auto sales fell
AP Markets Writer gest weekly gain since the The Standard & Poor’s 500 and flooding was responsi-
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. beginning of January. index gained 4.61 points, ble for almost all of the loss.
stocks edged higher Friday Rick Rieder, the chief in- or 0.2 percent, to a record Apple picked up $1.60, or By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
as technology companies vestment officer for Black- 2,500.23. The Dow Jones in- 1 percent, to $159.88 af- AP Economics Writer
and banks rose. The Stan- Rock’s global fixed income dustrial average rose 64.86 ter three days of declines. WASHINGTON (AP) — Con-
dard & Poor’s 500 index business, said retail sales points, or 0.3 percent, to Chipmaker Nvidia jumped sumers cut back on their
closed above 2,500 for and inflation have been 22,268.34, its fourth record $10.71, or 6.3 percent, to shopping in August by
the first time as stocks had weak because technologi- close in a row. The Nasdaq $180.11 and hard drive the largest amount in six
one of their best weeks this cal changes keep reduc- composite added 19.38 maker Western Digital months as declining auto
year. ing the prices of clothes, points, or 0.3 percent, to gained $2.73, or 3.2 per- sales offset gains in other
Stocks wobbled in early food, travel, and phone 6,448.47. The Russell 2000 cent, to $88.52. areas.
trading after the Com- plans. That lowers mea- index of smaller-compa- However shares of soft- Retail sales fell 0.2 percent
merce Department said re- surements of sales reve- ny stocks picked up 6.69 ware maker Oracle ab- last month after a 0.3 per-

sorbed their biggest loss in cent gain in July, the Com-
four years. The company’s merce Department said
first-quarter profit and sales Friday.
were better than investors It was the biggest one-
expected, but analysts month drop since an iden-
were concerned about tical decline in February.
forecasts for its cloud com- Auto sales sank 1.6 per-
puting business. Oracle lost cent, the most in seven
$4.05, or 7.7 percent, to months.
$48.74. Excluding autos and gas,
Boeing rose $3.77, or 1.5 which tend to be volatile
percent, to $249 as the from month to month, sales
aerospace company con- dipped 0.1 percent in Au-
tinued to set record highs. gust after having risen 0.5
Its stock is up 60 percent percent in July.
in 2017. Stocks in the U.K. Analysts said the weaker-
slumped to a four-month than-expected August
low and the pound rose to sales were weighed down
its highest level since mid- in part by the initial disrup-
2016, after Bank of England tions from Hurricane Har-
officials confirmed they vey on the Gulf Coast.
are close to raising interest Another factor, they said,
rates for the first time in a was some pay-back from
Traders Edward McCarthy, left, and Michael Milano work on the floor of the New York Stock Ex-
change. U.S. stocks edged higher Friday as technology companies and banks rose. decade. July, when sales had been
(AP Photo/Richard Drew) The first step could hap- boosted by the Amazon
pen as soon as November. Prime Day sales promo-
tail sales slipped in August nue, like the one the gov- points, or 0.5 percent, to Many companies on the tions.
and the Federal Reserve ernment released Friday, 1,431.71. British FTSE 100 are multi- Economists also noted
said industrial production but Rieder said they keep Industrial production in nationals whose overseas some downward revisions
dropped last month, most- people buying — even the U.S. fell 0.9 percent in earnings are diminished to previous months, with
ly because of Hurricane though the same techno- August, the biggest drop in value when the pound sales in July downgraded
Harvey. logical changes can also in eight years, as Harvey appreciates against other to a 0.3 percent gain, just
But big names like Apple lower people’s wages. knocked numerous oil re- currencies. half the initially reported in-
and Boeing took the mar- “We get everything fining, plastics and chemi- The pound surged to crease.
ket higher. Stocks made cheaper than we used to cals factories out of busi- $1.3571 from $1.3398, its But they said they re-
big gains Monday and as because of the internet ness for a time. Many of highest since mid-2016. The mained optimistic about
Hurricane Irma weakened, and delivery mechanisms,” those factories are based FTSE 100 fell 1.1 percent af- consumer spending in the
and they didn’t do too he said. “The price is com- in the Gulf Coast region ter a 1.1-percent loss Thurs- coming months, thanks in
much after that, but still ing down so quickly that it’s that Harvey hit. The Federal day. q large part to a still-solid job
market.
US businesses increase stockpiles in July “With consumer confi-

dence close to record
highs and the labor market
By MATT OTT the most since a 0.9 per- That follows a lackluster ally seen as a sign of their continuing to improve ...
Associated Press cent gain in November of 1.2 percent expansion in confidence that sales will we doubt this is the start of
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. last year. the first quarter, which was increase in the coming a more sustained downturn
businesses increased their Sales rose 0.2 percent in slowed partly because in- months. A decrease in in- and expect retail spending
stockpiles in July, but at a July, matching the June ventories subtracted from ventories can be a sign to bounce back over the
slower pace than in June. gain. overall economic activity. of pessimism about future coming months,” said An-
Sales also rose by a small Economists expect that Economists believe busi- sales.July inventory gains drew Hunter, U.S. econo-
amount. inventory growth will nesses rebuilding their were led by a 0.6 percent mist at Capital Economics.
Business inventories rose by strengthen further in com- stockpiles could add as increase in stockpiles at the Sales rose last month at
a seasonally adjusted 0.2 ing months and help sup- much as a half percentage wholesale level and a 0.2 general merchandise
percent in July, following port overall economic ex- point to overall economic percent uptick in the man- stores, a category that in-
June’s gain of 0.5 percent, pansion. growth in the current quar- ufacturing sector. Those in- cludes big-box retailers
the Commerce Depart- Annual GDP growth im- ter. creases helped offset a 0.1 such as Target.
ment said Friday. The June proved to 3 percent in the When businesses increase percent drop-off in retail in- Rising gasoline prices also
increase in inventories was second quarter of 2017. stockpiles, it is gener- ventories. q boosted sales.q