U.S. stocks open lower on downbeat economic data

U.S. stocks opened lower Friday as investors meditated on a batch of generally negative economic reports.

The Commerce Department announced Friday that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for July were 457.7 billion U.S. dollars, virtually unchanged from the previous month and below market estimates of a 0.4-percent gain.

U.S. total sales for the May 2016 through July 2016 period were up 2.5 percent from the same period a year ago.

The Producer Price Index for final demand decreased 0.4 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, missing market consensus of a 0.1-percent gain, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

In corporate news, shares of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. rose about 1 percent in early trading Friday after the U.S. retailer posted narrower-than-expected second-quarter losses and worse-than-expected quarterly sales.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.87 points, or 0.23 percent, to 18,570.65. The S&P 500 lost 5.26 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,180.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 12.72 points, or 0.24 percent, to 5,215.68.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks rallied, with all three major indices refreshing their new closing highs, as Wall Street digested a batch of positive earnings reports amid economic data. Endi