New York - AFP
US stocks Friday moved lower in early trade following reports showing lower consumer spending and weak results for leading retailers.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35.30 (0.21 percent) to 16,663.44.
The broad-based S&P 500, which notched a new record Thursday, dipped 1.61 (0.08 percent) to 1,918.42 , while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 7.04 (0.17 percent) to 4,240.90.
The Commerce Department reported that consumer spending, the largest driver of the US economy, fell by $9.1 billion last month, or 0.1 percent, following the $120.2 billion rise the previous month.
Casual clothing chain Express slumped 12.6 percent after reporting an 11 percent decline in first-quarter comparable sales and projecting annual earnings of 74-90 cents per share. Analysts had forecast profits of $1.14 per share.
Fashion retailer Guess meanwhile fell 3.4 percent following a net loss of $2.1 million for the first quarter.
Splunk, which works in "big data" analysis, sank 12.4 percent despite raising its forecast. The company now expects annual sales of $402-410 million, up from the previous projection of $400 million.
Deutsche Bank said investors were disappointed Splunk did not show stronger growth in billings and some other widely-watched metrics during the first quarter.
Value retailer Big Lots shot up 11.8 percent as earnings of 50 cents per share bested analyst forecasts by six cents.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.49 percent from 2.46 percent Thursday, while the 30-year held steady at 3.33 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.