US stocks slip after Wal-Mart report

Wall Street shrugged off a dull sales report from Wal-Mart and news of weak consumer spending last month ending an erratic session with mixed US stocks,on Monday. The blue-chip Dow Jones was dragged down by reports from Wal-Mart and Verizon telecommunications, but two other indices made a strong tech performance to keep it afloat.

The smallest monthly increase in US sales for two years was reported by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer while Verizon Communications only enhanced the third-quarter profits by 2.8 per cent, less than the analysts had predicted.

Craig Hester, president of Hester Capital Management in Austin, Texas, was quoted as saying, "The Wal-Mart numbers could be the catalyst for people to scratch their heads and be worried about the economy going forward.”

Investors seemed uncertain after Friday's weaker-than-expected reading of the gross domestic product but their confidence in the overall direction of the economy and Wall Street itself was palpable.

Microsoft, one of the 30 Dow stocks, put on 19 cents to close at $28.53. Another Dow stock, Boeing went up 48 cents to $80.22.

A report by the Commerce Department concluded that consumer spending rose an anemic 0.1 percent in September, the smallest increase in 10 months, further adding to concerns. However, personal income was up 0.5 per cent.

"Personal spending was less than expected, but then personal income was better than expected," said Stuart Freeman, chief equity strategist for A.G. Edwards. “Investors will grapple with sometimes negative and seemingly contradictory economic data as they try to determine whether the economy will pull off a soft landing after the Federal Reserve's 17 straight interest-rate increases that ended in July.”

Gold prices went up by $12.25, to close at $608.50 per fine ounce and Light; sweet crude settled down $2.39 at $58.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar went up from 78.51 euro cents to 78.59 euro cents on Friday.