U.S. shares dipped on Friday and the S&P 500 eased off a recent record high as a ream of weak data stirred concerns about the economy's health, Reuters reported. The S&P jumped 1.08 percent to a record close a day earlier, modestly exceeding its previous peak on April 24, fueling speculation the benchmark index may trend higher after having oscillated in a range for much of the past three months. At 2:01 p.m. (1801 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.95 points, or 0.09 percent, to 18,236.29, the S&P 500 lost 2.04 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,119.06 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 11.79 points, or 0.23 percent, to 5,039.01. Four of the 10 major S&P 500 sectors fell, with the financial index down 0.69 percent. Microsoft, which dropped 1.31 percent, was the biggest contributor to the S&P 500's decline. Industrial output slipped 0.3 percent, weighed by a decline in production by mining companies and utilities. Economists had forecast a rise of 0.1 percent. Netflix rose 4.86 percent to $615.07 after Bloomberg reported it was in talks to enter China. The stock has rocketed 80 percent this year so far. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,592 to 1,402, for a 1.14-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,542 issues fell and 1,162 advanced for a 1.33-to-1 ratio favoring decliners. The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 36 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 79 new highs and 29 new lows. -- SPA 22:21 LOCAL TIME 19:21 GMT تغريد
