Shares of retailers and other consumer companies fell as investors backed off bets on a rapid return to prepandemic "normal."
The number of new unemployment applications fell to the lowest level since the onset of the pandemic in the U.S.
Shares of airlines fell even as two of the largest -- Southwest Airlines and American Airlines Group - indicated that the worst of the pandemic-related slowdown was behind them. Southwest said government aid helped it notch a profit of $116 million in the first quarter, its first quarterly profit since the onset of the pandemic. American, meanwhile, posted a quarterly loss of $1.25 billion on revenue of $4 billion, a smaller loss than in previous quarters in the past year.
The median price for existing home sales rose to $329,100 in March, soaring 17% from a year earlier, and reaching a new high, according to the National Association of Realtors. Higher prices and scant inventory are set to slow home-sales activity in the spring, which is usually the peak season for activity.
Swiss food processing giant Nestle rallied after the maker of Nespresso coffee and Purina dog food posted growth in "comparable sales," or sales from continuing operations, of 7.7% in the first three months of the year, stripping out the impact of portfolio and currency changes, the strongest growth rate in a decade.
Distiller Pernod Ricard posted an increase in fiscal third-quarter sales as an up-tick in home alcohol consumption looks set to prevail beyond the depths of the pandemic.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-22-21 1719ET
