US stocks fall as investors weigh strong bank earnings against weak retail sales data

• US stocks moved lower on Friday as investors weighed solid bank earnings against weak retail sales data.
• JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all posted better-than-feared earnings that indicated a resilient economy.
• But retail sales dropped 1% in March as consumers scaled back big-ticket purchases. 

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US stocks fell on Friday as investors sifted through the first wave of first-quarter earnings from the largest US banks and digested new economic data.

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all posted better-than-expected results as the banks benefited from a surge in interest rates. The banks also offered a solid outlook on future net interest income, and JPMorgan's CEO said the economy remains resilient.

"The US economy continues to be on generally healthy footings — consumers are still spending and have strong balance sheets, and businesses are in good shape," Jamie Dimon said.

But weak retail data in March weighed down stocks. Sales fell 1% last month, more than the expected drop of 0.4%. The retail sales data extended the decline seen in February and was driven by consumers pulling back on big-ticket item purchases like cars.

"A handful of earnings releases today from large banks exceeded expectations, but any resulting optimism is being tempered by retail sales data pointing to tapped-out consumers against the backdrop of an economy that is running on fumes," Interactive Brokers' senior economist José Torres said.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,137.64, down 0.21%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,886.47, down 0.42% (143.22 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 12,123.47, down 0.35%

Here's what else is happening this morning:

• A top investor in Charles Schwab dumped its entire $1.4 billion stake as the brokerage fell victim to turmoil in the banking sector.
• There is no banking crisis, and unease in the sector will help the Federal Reserve to cool inflation, the head of the International Monetary Fund says.
• Jeremy Grantham said the S&P 500 will tank at least 27% as a recession hits the economy.
• Ether has surged to top $2,000 and is trading at an 11-month high after the ethereum network completed a long-awaited upgrade that unlocks some investors' tokens.
• Jimmy and Dee Haslam are set to buy a minority stake in the Milwaukee Bucks after they sold their gas station business to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
• Retail investors are sitting on losses in 2023 despite a surprising rally in stocks, with the average individual investor's portfolio down about 27% year-to-date.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.58% to $82.64 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 0.41% to $86.44.
• Gold fell 1.7% to $2,020.30 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped seven basis points to 3.52%.
• Bitcoin fell 1.26% to $30,348, while ether fell 1.10% to $2,088.