Stocks fluctuate after retail sales rise modestly

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are fluctuating in early trading after the latest consumer spending number fell just short of expectations.

The Commerce Department said today that retail sales rose 0.4 percent in July. That was an improvement after two months of sales declines. But the number was just below economists’ forecast of a gain of 0.5 percent. The report did show strength in auto sales, but it also showed that consumers are shying away from other purchases.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent last month. The gain, slightly above forecasts, was due to higher energy costs. But overall inflation, which excludes energy and food costs, rose 0.1 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 6, or almost 0.1 percent, at 10,326. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.05, or virtually unchanged, at 1,083.66. The Nasdaq composite index is down 2.99, or 0.1 percent, at 2,187.28.