US stocks retreat from record highs

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks opened lower on Tuesday, retreating from record highs posted in the previous session.

The Dow Jones was down 300, or 0.84%, to 35,324 at 9.53 a.m. EDT. The blue-chip index hit a new all-time high of 35,631.19 on Monday.

The S&P 500 lost 32 points, or 0.73%, to 4,447 after posting a record of 4,480.26 the previous day. The Nasdaq decreased 150, or 1%, to 14,644.

Major retailer Target saw shares decline 1.7%, while home improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe's stocks plummeted 5% apiece.

The sudden decline came amid weak retail sales figure, which fell 1.1% in July, from the previous month, much more than the market estimate of a 0.3% decline, according to the Commerce Department.

The VIX volatility index, also dubbed the fear index, was up again with a 8.5% gain to 17.50.

While the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes was flat at 1.257%, the dollar index was up 0.3% at 92.93.

Precious metals were mixed with gold adding 0.1% to $1,789 per ounce, but silver falling 0.2% to $23.8.

Oil prices were also mixed. Brent crude was up 0.06% to $69.55 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate lost 0.15% to $66.95.