US stocks closed lower on Friday after weak retail sales and consumer sentiment reports raised concerns about the economy. The S&P 500 fell 0.17%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.20%, and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.13%. July retail sales dropped 0.6% month-over-month, far below expectations of a 0.1% gain, while the University of Michigan's preliminary August consumer sentiment index fell 4.2 points to 51.0. The weak data slightly reduced the odds of a September Fed rate hike to 32% from 35%, but also sparked worries about weaker corporate earnings. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 4 basis points to 4.682% despite the soft economic reports, as inflation concerns persisted.
