US stocks found support after weak retail sales and consumer sentiment data lowered the odds of a September Federal Reserve rate hike to 29% from 35%. July retail sales fell 0.6% month-over-month, far below the expected 0.1% gain, while the University of Michigan's preliminary August consumer sentiment index dropped 4.2 points to 51.0. The S&P 500 was up 0.02%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.08%, and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.15%. Tech stocks got a lift from an overnight rally in South Korea's Kospi, where Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged more than 15% this week. Oil prices were little changed as the Trump administration shifted to economic pressure on Iran rather than new military strikes, with Treasury Secretary Bessent promising unprecedented measures.
