Global Stocks: U.S. indices changed mildly

Major U.S. stock indices took a breath on Thursday and posted only slight changes. Investors assessed U.S. retail sales data paying little attention to further devaluation of the yuan.

U.S. Department of Commerce reported that seasonally adjusted retail sales rose by 0.6% m/m in July (instead of +0.5% expected) giving the U.S. economy the right push at the beginning of the second half of the year. In June sales were unchanged after a surge in May. Sales excluding automobiles rose by 0.4% in July marking the third straight month of solid growth. A better-than-expected report suggests that the U.S. economy remains strong despite turmoils around the globe.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 5.74 points, or less than 0.1%, to 17408.25. The S&P 500 slid 2.66 points, or 0.1%, to 2083.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 10.83 points, or 0.2%, to 5033.56.

Energy companies' 1.4% drop led declines in the S&P 500 index.

This morning in Asia Hong Kong Hang Seng rose 0.08%, or 18.87 points, to 24,037.67. China Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.89%, or 35.19 points, to 3,989.75. The Nikkei lost 0.26%, or 54.21 points, to 20,541.34.

On Friday the People's Bank of China raised exchange rate of the yuan by 0.06% after three days of cuts.

Japanese stocks declined amid concerns over Chinese economy.