Retail sales tumbled in December

Retail sales fell 2.7% in December from November as a growing number of shoppers stayed on the sidelines during the holiday shopping season, according to the Department of Commerce. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com Inc. of Chicago had predicted a decline of just 1.2%. With the bleak December data, retail sales fell by a seasonally adjusted $343.2 billion, down 9.8% from December 2007. The grim data sent the major stock indexes tumbling in Wednesday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 300.4 points, or 3.5%, to a session low of 8,142.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off by as much as 58.62 points, or 3.9% to 1,487.84. And the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index lost as much as 34.86 points, or 4%, dropping to a session low of 836.93.