US stock indexes slightly declined after week of losses

U.S. stocks fell, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its fifth drop in six sessions, as data showed a slowdown in Japan’s economic growth and investors awaited tomorrow’s report on US retail sales.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 1,689.47 at 4 p.m. in New York, extending its loss from a record high to 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 5.83 points, or less than 0.1%, to 15,419.68.

“We have growth frustratingly low offset by discount rates that are unnaturally low,” Joe Costigan, director of equity research at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview for Bloomberg. “As long as that’s the case, the market will stay locked at least into September and you’ll see days like this with low volume and really not a lot of conviction.”

Investors have turned their attention to economic indicators in order to predict whether Fed is going to reduce its bond purchasing program as soon as this September. Charles Evans, Sandra Pianalto and Richard Fisher, regional Fed presidents in Chicago, Cleveland and Dallas, said during last week that the central bank may be closer to tapering as the labor market recovers. Fed stimulus has helped propel the S&P 500 up more than 150% from its bear-market low in 2009.

In corporate news, Tesla Motors fell 3.7% to $147.38. Investors are pricing in the company’s development into a successful premium manufacturer similar to Porsche Automobil Holding SE over the next decade, and any “execution issues” with its electric car models could send the shares down to $100, Aditya Satghare, an analyst with Lazard, wrote in a note to clients. Lazard Capital Markets LLC downgraded the car-maker’s shares.

Sysco sank 5.8%, the most in the S&P 500, to $32.99. The food distributor said it will not meet its fiscal 2015 earnings forecast as weak restaurant traffic hurt profit.

Apple rose 2.8% to $467.36, snapping a four-day losing streak. The U.S. International Trade Commission on Aug. 9 said Samsung Electronics infringed two Apple patents and issued an order banning imports of products using the iPhone maker’s multitouch features and headphone jack detection.

BlackBerry jumped 10%, the most since March 11, to $10.78. The mobile device maker said it has formed a special committee to explore options including a sale of the company or a joint venture. Its shares slumped 18% this year through the end of last week.

Newmont Mining Corp., the world’s second-biggest gold producer, gained 4.7% to $30.90 for the largest increase in the S&P 500, as the precious metal rose a fourth day, the longest rally in almost a month. Barrick Gold Corp, Newmont Mining’s bigger rival, added 4.5% to $18.21.