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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are lower as energy and materials companies fall along with the price of oil and precious metals. The Bank of Japan cut its economic forecasts, which hurt stocks overseas, and the U.S. Commerce Department reported surprisingly weak retail sales. The Dow was down 20 points to 17,209 at 10:50 a.m. Eastern. The S&P 500 had lost 10 to 2,009. The Nasdaq fell 27 to 4,723.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. retail sales are down 0.1 percent for the month of February, due in part to sharply lower gas prices. Retail sales for January have also been revised sharply lower -- from a 0.2 percent gain to a drop of about 0.4 percent. The figures suggest consumers remain cautious about spending despite steady hiring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. producer prices edged down in February as both the cost of energy and food declined. The fifth drop in the past seven months underscores that inflation remains a no-show. The Labor Department says the Producer Price Index -- which measures price pressures before they reach the consumer -- declined 0.2 percent last month.
UNDATED (AP) — U.S. homebuilders remain optimistic that the housing market will improve, but their expectations for sales over the next six months have dimmed just as the spring home-selling season gets under way. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday held steady at 58 this month. The index had been in the low 60s for eight months until February.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says it will not allow oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, reversing a proposal that would have opened up a wide area of the coast to drilling. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made the announcement on Twitter, declaring that the administration's next five-year offshore drilling plan "protects the Atlantic for future generations."
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