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U.S. stocks retreat from records on weak auto sales

Xinhua, March 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks pulled back in the morning session Tuesday, as U.S. vehicle sales in February came in lackluster.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 130.92 points, or 0.72 percent, to 18,157.71. The S&P 500 dropped 16.01 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,101.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 43.14 points, or 0.86 percent, to 4,964.96.

With no major U.S. data due Tuesday, investors shifted their focus to a batch of auto sales which were weaker-than-expected.

General Motors said its U.S. February sales climbed 4 percent to 231,378, slightly below market expectations of 233,707. Ford's sales fell 2 percent to 180,383, missing consensus of 194,872. Fiat Chrysler added 6 percent to 163,586, also narrowly below estimates. Nissan's sales were up 3 percent to 118,436, compared with estimates of 121,183.

In other corporate news, Best Buy announced financial results Tuesday for the fourth quarter and the year ended Jan. 31, 2015. The company earned an adjusted 1.48 U.S. dollars per share for its latest quarter, beating estimates by 13 cents. Best Buy's shares added 0.96 percent around midday.

Shares of AutoZone rose 0.79 percent after the company reported net sales of 2.1 billion dollars for its second quarter ended Feb. 14, 2015, an increase of 7.7 percent from the second quarter of fiscal 2014.

U.S. stocks kicked off the month with a surge Monday, with the Nasdaq closing above the 5,000 level for the first time since March 2000, while both the Dow and the S&P 500 refreshing their record highs. Endite