Dow futures stage ugly u-turn after worst plunge in nine years for retail sales, raising specter of recession

Stock-market ebullience over progress in U.S.-China trade talks on Thursday gave way to pessimism after a December report on retail sales showed the worst decline in about nine years, sparking recessionary fears. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned firmly negative, after showing a triple-digit gain. Most recently, Dow futures were down 100 points, or about 0.4%, at 25,398. Meanwhile, futures for the S&P 500 were off 10.35 points, or 0.4%, at 2,739.75, while those for the Nasdaq-100 were down 0.4% at 6,991. Retail sales sank 1.2% in December, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. It's the largest drop since September 2009, a few months after the end of the Great Recession. The market had been set for gains on optimism over progress between China and the U.S. as reports indicated that Chinese President Xi Jinping would meet with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and top trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer on Friday, as the countries attempt to resolve longstanding trade differences that have roiled markets. The retail sales report is likely to weigh on the government's official scorecard for the economy known as gross domestic product, with fears of a recession looming.

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