Plunge in Consumer Spending Sends Stocks Lower

US stocks opened mixed Friday following a downbeat report on consumer spending.

Consumer spending fell 13.6 percent in April amid the coronavirus lockdown, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Friday.

The drop was the sharpest since record keeping began in 1959.

The lockdown intended to curb spread of Covid-19 wiped out a decade of job gains. About 40 million people have lost their jobs since March.

Personal income, including wages, interest and dividends, grew 10.5 percent in April, reflecting a sharp rise in government stimulus spending, the BEA said.

Personal savings hit a historic high of 33 percent of disposable income, up from 12.7 percent in March, the BEA said.

It's unclear if people are hunkering down or if the government-mandated closure of the economy simply limited opportunities to spend.

Different states are reopening the economy at different paces and the worst of the downturn appears to be over. The number of initial jobless claims no longer increases each week and consumer spending, which represents about two-thirds of the US economy, may rebound if job gains are strong.

Interest rates are low and mortgage applications are increasing. But the strength and speed of the recovery is uncertain.

In early trading Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 63.78 points, or 0.25 percent, to 25,335.02. The S&P 500 slipped 0.06 percent. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.55 percent.

On Thursday, the Dow fell 147.63 points, or 0.58 percent, and closed at 25,400.64. The S&P 500 lost 0.21 percent. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.46 percent.

On Friday, US crude oil futures fell 2.34 percent to $32.92 a barrel. Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, lost 2.29 percent to $35.17 a barrel. The price of oil is a proxy for future economic activity.

General Motors said the restart of component and assembly plants in North America has "gone smoothly".

Starting Monday, the automaker said three crossover assembly plants in the US and Canada will operate two shifts while three US plants building mid-and-full-size pickup trucks will move to three-shift operations from one shift. Five other US assembly plants will operate a single shift.

In early trading, GM's stock lost 1.41 percent.

Dollar General, a discount retailer, said first quarter revenue and profit exceeded Wall Street's expectations and credited the coronavirus pandemic as consumers looked for bargains.

In early trading, Dollar General's stock gained 2.75 percent.

On-line retailer Amazon.com said it plans to offer permanent jobs to about 70 percent of workers hired in the US to fulfill increased orders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In early trading, Amazon's stock gained 0.92 percent.

Drug maker Eli Lilly said the US Food and Drug Administration has approved use of a radioactive agent that can detect a key indicator of Alzheimer's disease and will allow patients to better plan a course of action.

In early trading, the company's stock gained 0.78 percent.

Upscale retailer Nordstrom reported quarterly losses three times greater Wall Street's estimates as sales fell about 40 percent during the coronavirus pandemic.

In early trading, Nortstrom's shares fell 7.89 percent.

Big box retailer Costco said earnings fell 6 cents below estimates. In April, same store sales, or sales at stores open more than a year, fell for the first time in about 10 years despite a rush to stockpile household basics in March.

In early trading, Costco's shares fell 8.44 percent.

Department store chain J.C. Penney, which filed for bankruptcy protection on May 15, plans to start closing stores by mid-June.

The company said it plans to close about 30 percent of its 846 stores as part of its restructuring. Sales have been hit hard by state-imposed stay-at-home orders intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

In a statement, J.C. Penney said it had opened about 150 stores in 27 states. The company has now reopened 304 stores and could have as many as 500 back in business by June 3.

J.C. Penney's shares, now traded over the counter rather than on an exchange, gained 3.47 percent in early trading.