US Stock Futures Fall After Drop In Retail Sales; DJIA Off 51

[Lochloosa]

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures dropped Friday morning after data showed retail sales unexpectedly fell in May as consumers pulled back their spending, the biggest and first drop since September.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 51 points at 10036 recently, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures dropped 7 points to 1073 and Nasdaq Composite futures slipped 12 points to 1810. Prior to the data, Dow futures had been up about 8 points, S&P 500 futures were up half a point and Nasdaq futures were up 1.5 points. Changes in stock futures do not always accurately predict early stock moves after the open.

Retail sales tumbled 1.2%, the Commerce Department said Friday. The drop came as consumers pulled back their spending on things from cars to clothing. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were expecting a 0.2% increase.

Excluding auto and gas sales, retail sales slipped 0.8%, the largest drop since 1.0% in March 2009.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-fall-after-drop-in-retail-sales-djia-off-51-2010-06-11

[nevergiveup]

1. Consumers are bummed-out over the Gulf catastrophe

As a retailer I have hear it over and over every day. The Gulf tragedy is taking a toll on retail sales. It was tough enough fighting back from this monstrous recession. Now we have this.