US stocks fall as data signal economic cooling

US stock indices closed lower on Friday as macroeconomic headwinds weighed.

The S&P 500 eased 0.2% from its record high, while the Dow shed 108 points and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%.

The University of Michigan’s preliminary August sentiment index fell to 51, below forecasts of 55.

Meanwhile, retail sales dropped in July by the most in over a year.

The data, alongside weak jobs figures and soft inflation, suggested that the economy is showing signs of cooling.

A slowdown in consumer spending could weigh on corporate profits and the stock market.

Hyperscalers, including Meta (-0.9%), Oracle (-3.8%) and Amazon (-0.9%), posted losses.

Heavyweight chipmakers closed mixed, with Broadcom down 5.9%, Intel losing 2%, and Nvidia edging lower, while AMD (+6.5%) and memory producers extended their strong gains from earlier in the week.

Micron added 2.3% on bullish recommendations from analysts and brokers, while Sandisk jumped 7.4% following its 14% surge on Thursday.