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US stocks fall as April retail sales miss expectations

New York - Wall Street stocks dipped in early trade Friday following disappointing US retail sales data for April and weak earnings from leading department store chains.

US retail sales rose 0.4% last month, less than then the 0.6% pickup expected by analysts. On the positive side, analysts said the data bolsters confidence that second-quarter consumption will be better than in the first quarter.

US stocks face pressure due to the lofty state of equity valuations, analysts said. They have also cited unease over President Donald Trump's shock firing of FBI director James Comey amid an FBI probe of the Trump presidential campaign's contacts with Russia.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 20 876.59, down 0.2%.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.2% to 2 390.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.1% to 6 112.90.

Nordstrom fell 9.4% after reporting a 0.8% drop in comparable sales in the first quarter. Net income rose 37% to $63m.

JC Penney tumbled 9.6% after reporting a $180m loss in the first quarter. The results added to worries about retailers' prospects with the rise of e-commerce.

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