World stocks: Retailers weaken as consumer spending cools

NEW YORK - US blue-chip stocks ended lower as retailers and banks sank for a second successive day on concern that consumer spending may wane over the rest of the year and undermine earnings prospects.

"What is basically happening is that Wall St is losing its confidence in the ability of consumer spending to keep up the pace necessary for retailers to have a very strong second half," said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Trend Report.

Many retailers who have reported results for the second quarter have managed to match or top Wall St expectations but cautionary comments from some companies as well as investor wariness about earnings performance in the balance of the year have placed the entire sector under pressure.

Home improvement giant Home Depot and Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, fell after retail analysts downgraded the stocks due in part to uncertainty about near-term earnings.

Both contributed to a drop in the Dow Jones industrial average, which fell 58.61 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 11,008.39, building on Tuesday's 109.14-point loss.

In London, the FTSE 100 rose to its highest close in two months. pulled up by a heavyweight trio of banks, oils and drug sectors. Barclays rose 3.9 per cent amid positive comment on its planned Woolwich acquisition, and with the sector reaping the benefit of hopes for more consolidation and no further British interest rate rises.

Britain's FTSE 100 headed down after Thursday's opening, taking its lead from a weaker Wall St.

British Telecom weighed heavily by falling 3.6 per cent to 20-month lows on debt worries, after it reached agreement to take control of Germany's Viag Interkom.

- NZPA