US stocks edge lower as investors sift through the first wave of big bank earnings

• US stocks slipped on Friday as investors digest a wave of large-cap bank earnings.
• JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all posted better-than-feared earnings results.
• Retail sales in March came in weaker than expected, signaling consumers are pulling back on big ticket purchases.

US stocks edged lower on Friday as investors sifted through the first wave of first-quarter earnings results from the largest US banks.

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all posted better-than-expected profit results as the banks benefited from a surge in interest rates. The banks also offered a solid outlook on future net interest income and JPMorgan CEO said he the economy remains resilient.

"The U.S. economy continues to be on generally healthy footings — consumers are still spending and have strong balance sheets, and businesses are in good shape," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said.

Despite the solid earnings results from the big bank, weak retail sales in March weighed down stock prices in early trades. Retail sales fell 1% last month, more than the expected decline of just -0.4%. The March retail sales data extended the decline seen in February and was driven by consumers pulling back on big-ticket item purchases like cars.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET opening bell on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,142.75, down 0.08%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,032.57, down 0.01% (2.10 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 12,117.64, down 0.4%

Here's what else is happening this morning:

• A top investor in Charles Schwab dumped its entire $1.4 billion stake as the brokerage fell victim to turmoil in the banking sector.
• There is no banking crisis – and unease in the sector will help the Federal Reserve to cool inflation, the head of the International Monetary Fund says.
• Jeremy Grantham stayed consistent with his bearish view on stocks in a recent interview, saying that the S&P 500 will tank at least 27% as a recession hits the economy.
• Ethereum's native token ether has surged to top $2,000 and is trading at an 11-month high after the blockchain network completed a long-awaited upgrade that unlocks some investors' tokens.
• Jimmy and Dee Haslam are set to buy a minority stake in the Milwaukee Bucks after they sold their gas station business to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.33% to $82.43 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 0.21% to $86.27.
• Gold fell 0.91% to $2,036.50 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped five basis points to 3.49%.
• Bitcoin fell 0.23% to $20,662, while ether fell 0.59% to $2,099.