US stocks little changed, retail sales gain

Wall Street stocks finished little changed Thursday in choppy trade following solid US retail sales, but lower earnings from department stores Kohl's and Dillard's.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,410.36, up 7.85 points (0.05 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 2.56 (0.12 percent) to 2,083.49, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 10.83 (0.21 percent) at 5,033.56.

US retail sales rose 0.6 percent in July from June levels, to $446.5 billion, beating expectations and sparking speculation that the Federal Reserve could lift interest rates as soon as September.

But earnings from Kohl's and Dillard's painted a muted picture of consumer behavior. Kohl's shares tumbled 8.8 percent as it reported lower-than-expected earnings, with second-quarter net income falling 44 percent to $130 million.

Dillard's earnings fell 2.4 percent as second-quarter net income fell 13.3 percent to $29.9 million, or 75 cent per share, three cents above expectations.