“U.S. stocks slipped as January’s retail sales were weaker than expected, dousing some optimism about the strength of the economy,” Christian Berthelsen and Chris Dieterich report for Dow Jones Newswires.

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 39 points, or 0.3%, to 12835 in midmorning New York trade. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 5.4 points, or 0.4%, to 1346 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2920,” Berthelsen and Dieterich report. “Nine of the S&P’s 10 sectors were in the red, led lower by financials and materials. Bank of America led blue chips lower, down 2.8%, followed by Aloca, down 1.9%.”

“The Commerce Department reported U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% in January to a seasonally adjusted $401.4 billion,” Berthelsen and Dieterich report. “Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected an increase of 0.9%. The soft results were due in part to a plunge in vehicle purchases, an indication that consumers may remain cautious amid a still-shaky economy.”

Berthelsen and Dieterich report, “In corporate news, shares of Apple edged up 0.2%, after Dow Jones Newswires reported the company is testing a new tablet computer with a smaller screen, as it looks to broaden its product pipeline.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple has over 25% of January’s seasonally adjusted U.S. retail sales in cash on hand.

Related article:
Apple, suppliers test iPad with smaller 8-inch screen, sources say – February 14, 2012