U.S. stocks fell on retail sales data

U.S. markets slumped on Wednesday after the Commerce Department data, which indicated a 0.2 per cent decline in retail sales for May, due to a decrease in gas consumption. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 42 points, a 0.3 per cent decrease, to 12,472. The Standard & Poor 500 Index retreated 6.40 points, a 0.5 per cent decline, to 1,313.70 and Nasdaq-100 index gave up 9.75 points to 2,535.