Stocks closed mostly lower on Wall Street after a weak report on retail sales got investors worried about the economy, the AP reports. Small-company stocks fell more than the rest of the market Wednesday. High-dividend sectors like consumer goods makers and utilities gained as investors shifted money into lower-risk investments. Bond prices also rose, sending yields to their lowest level of the year. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.13%. Big gains by Home Depot and Goldman Sachs helped send the Dow Jones industrial average to another record high.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,437. The Dow rose 46 points, or 0.2%, to 21,374. The Nasdaq fell 25 points, or 0.4%, to 6,194. (More stock market stories.)