Investing.com -- Stocks on the U.S. equities markets were mixed on Wednesday, amid a weaker dollar pushed down by a raft of soft economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Composite index fell mildly on the session, while the NASDAQ Composite index outperformed the other two major indices by posting modest gains on Wednesday. The Dow fell 7.74 or 0.04% to 18,060.49 for its second consecutive losing session, continuing a retreat from a strong session on Monday when it rose by more than 250 points. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, gained 5.50 or 0.11% to 4,981.69, as it resumed its push back toward 5,000.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.64 or 0.03% to 2,098.48, as it fell back from near record levels from last week. On a bearish session, seven of 10 sectors closed in the red as Utilities, Consumer Services and Energy stocks lagged. Stocks in the Utilities industry fell by more than 1% on the session, while stocks in the Technology, Industrials and Telecommunication led.
The U.S. Census Bureau said Wednesday that retail sales remained flat in April below economists' forecasts of a 0.2 gain. A reading of department store sales for the month showed a sharp decline of 2.2%, while sales of electronics and appliances fell by 0.4%. Since last April, retail sales have edged up only 0.9%, the lowest level dating back to late 2009.
Shares in Macy`s Inc (NYSE:M) fell 1.60 or 2.45%, after one of the nation's largest department stores reported worse than expected earnings for the first quarter. The Cincinnati-based multinational holding company posted revenues of 6.232 billion for the quarter, below forecasts of 6.318 billion. Macy's also missed analysts' forecasts of 0.62 earnings per share with a 0.56 EPS. The department store also reported a 0.1% decline in same-store sales on a year over year basis, below forecasts of a 1.1% gain.
The top performer on the Dow was Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which gained 0.42 or 1.29% to 32.67. The worst performer was EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD), which fell 5.55 or 7.41% to 69.30 after the chemical giant won a heated proxy battle with Trian Fund Management LP for several seats on its board.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was VimpelCom (NASDAQ:VIP), which rose 0.25 or 4.51% to 5.71. VimpelCom finished just ahead of Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK), which gained 1.89 or 3.33% to 58.69. The worst performer was Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT), which fell 0.71 or 2.64% to 26.17.
On the S&P 500, the top performer was Owens-Illinois Inc (NYSE:OI), which gained 2.19 or 9.21% to 25.98. DuPont also finished as the worst performer on the index, just below Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR), which lost 0.24 or 4.21% to 5.46.