Stocks plunge...Holiday sales disappoint...Wholesale prices, business stockpiles and industrial production decline

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are sharply lower in early trading on Wall Street. The declines are being led by energy companies as benchmark U.S. crude dipped below $30 a barrel. Financial stocks are also taking a big hit. The slide comes a day after the stock market clocked its best day in over a month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government report shows shopping tapered off slightly toward the end of the holiday season as lower gasoline prices cut into overall retail sales in December. The Commerce Department says retail sales dipped a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent last month to $448.1 billion, after having climbed a healthy 0.4 percent in November. Declining sales at clothing and general merchandise stores in December were largely offset by spending at restaurants, online retailers, furnishers and building supply stores.

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Retail Federation says holiday shoppers flocked online during the critical holiday shopping season, but overall sales in November and December were disappointing. The trade group says overall sales rose 3 percent to almost $626 billion. Online sales rose 9 percent to $105 billion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. producer prices fell slightly in December, reflecting a big drop in energy prices. The decline capped a year in which prices at the wholesale level fell. The Labor Department says its Producer Price Index, which measures inflation before it reaches consumers, dropped 0.2 percent in December after a 0.3 percent increase in November. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, edged up a slight 0.1 percent. Over the past 12 months, producer prices have declined 1 percent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses reduced their stockpiles in November, as sales also slipped. The Commerce Department says November business inventories fell 0.2 percent. And the Federal Reserve says industrial production dropped for the third straight month in December, as utilities reduced output amid unusually warm weather and energy companies cut back in the face of falling oil prices.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.