Market Recap: What Do the Underlying Economics Look Like?

U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, despite positive earnings from big banks and gains earlier in the week, as investors digested weak retail sales data and hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.2% and 0.4% respectively. However, all three major…