Stock Market Opens Lower on More Retail Woes

The stock market is opening lower after more disconcerting news from a big retail chain.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 30 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,081 shortly after trade began Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 5 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,657. The Nasdaq composite rose one point, or 0.05 percent, to 3,607.

Department store Nordstrom cut its profit outlook for the year late Thursday. Its stock fell $1.83, or 3 percent, to $57.46. Wal-Mart and Macy's gave bleak outlooks earlier this week, raising doubts that shoppers will spend enough to give the tepid U.S. economy a boost.

Next week is busy with retail earnings, including results from J.C. Penney.

The government reported that developers broke ground on homes at a faster pace in July.

[Associated Press]