Afternoon Markets: Dow falls on retail sales figures

The Dow opened marginally down on yesterday's 8,469 close but immediately dropped further to 8,329....

The Dow opened marginally down on yesterday's 8,469 close but immediately dropped further to 8,329. US investors were responding to conflicting indicators of the state of the economy. Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said the US financial system is starting to heal itself but the markets were also faced with Commerce Department figures showing a 0.4% drop in US retail sales in April. General Motors led the market drop, falling 12.17% on opening, to 14 cents. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 fell through the morning and early afternoon, reaching a low of 4,333 shortly after 2pm although it r...