U.S. stocks were falling after bank earnings and retail sales

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks turned negative after record revenue by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) kicked off the first-quarter reporting season and retail sales data was weaker than expected.

At 11:10 ET (15:10 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 177 points or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.3% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.4%.

JPMorgan, Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) all beat expectations for the quarter, which was marred by turbulence from the collapse of two big banks. 

But retail sales fell by a more than expected 1% in March from the month before as shoppers cut back their spending on vehicles and other big-ticket purchases.

Recent economic data, including retail sales, have shown signs that the economy is cooling after the Federal Reserve’s aggressive attack on inflation through successive interest rate hikes. Futures traders are betting on another quarter of a percentage point rate hike at the Fed’s next meeting in May.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said Friday that a quarter of a point increase could mean the central bank can end its tightening cycle with some confidence that it has nudged inflation in the direction of its 2% target.

Consumer sentiment is holding up. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for April was 63.5 versus expectations for 62.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares fell 2.9% after it beat estimates for quarterly profit and raised its outlook for the year.

Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) shares fell more than 5.6% after it stopped deliveries of some 737 MAXs because of a supplier quality problem.

Oil was rising. Crude Oil WTI Futures rose 0.6% to $82.71 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures rose 0.3% to $86.34 a barrel. Gold Futures fell 2% to $2,013.