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New York - Wall Street stocks finished little changed on Tuesday as solid retail sales data offset ugly share price declines from some retail chains that reported disappointing earnings.
Strong auto sales and a pickup in sales at department stores helped US retail sales score their biggest increase in seven months in July, according to government data.
But those figures did not offer much solace to companies like Dick's Sporting Goods, which saw its share price sink 23% after slashing its full-year profit forecast and signalling it planned to keep prices low.
"By design, we will be more promotional and increase our marketing efforts for the remainder of the year, as we will aggressively protect our market share," said Edward Stack, chief executive of Dick's Sporting Goods.
Two other retailers that took a hit were Advance Auto Parts, which sank 20.3%, and Coach, which tumbled 15.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended slightly higher at 21 998.99.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 2 464.61, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.1% at 6 333.01.
Gainers in the Dow included Apple, American Express and Boeing, all up about one percent or more.
Among other retailers Home Depot lost 2.7% despite raising its full-year profit forecast, while TJX, parent of the TJ Maxx discount chain, gained 0.8% after reporting a 6.0% rise in second-quarter sales to $8.4bn.
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