Mart said that its results were hurt by bad weather and a delay in tax refunds caused by last fall's government shutdown. Kohl's also had bad news. The department store chain said sales fell 3.4 percent in the first quarter, missing the company's own expectations. But investors cheered J.C. Penney's latest report, which came out after the market closed. The struggling retailer said it had sales of $2.8 billion in the first quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations. It also reported a smaller than expected loss. General Motors (GM) announced five new recalls covering 2.7 million vehicles, including a wiring flaw tied to 13 accidents and two injuries. It was the latest in a string of high-profile recalls this year that have hit the automaker's bottom line. The stock ended the day down over 1.5 percent. The dollar gained ground against the euro and the pound, but lost ground versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for June delivery dropped 87 cents to $101.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell $12.30 to $1,293.60 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 167.16, or 1.01 percent, to 16,446.81. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 17.68, or 0.94 percent, to 1,870.85. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 31.34, or 0.76 percent, to 4,069.29.
