Shares of retailers and other consumer companies ticked down as traders hedged their bets on the outlook for holiday season spending.
Fears that supply-chain outages would crimp holiday toy sales were alleviated when Mattel executives said the toy maker "successfully navigated" such issues. Shares of Mattel rose slightly.
Services-business activity accelerated in some of the world's largest economies this month, offsetting weakness in manufacturing caused by supply-chain bottlenecks and rising prices.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-22-21 1700ET
