By Ellie Ismailidou and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

J.C. Penney sales disappoint; oil gains slightly

U.S. stock futures turned negative on Friday, pulled lower by weaker-than-expected economic data after the stock market's three main benchmarks all closed at records in the prior session.

U.S. retail sales stalled in July after three straight monthly gains, according to government data released Friday. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retail-sales-stall-in-july-2016-08-12)Retail sales, which have increased 2.3% over the past 12 months, are an important part of consumer spending, which is the backbone of the U.S. economy.

Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices fell 0.4% in July, the biggest drop since September 2015, according to a government report released Friday. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-wholesale-prices-fall-sharply-in-july-2016-08-12) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-wholesale-prices-fall-sharply-in-july-2016-08-12)Over the past year overall producer prices are down 0.2% in unadjusted terms.

Stock futures turned negative after the release, gold gained, the dollar slumped and Treasury yields plunged to their second-lowest level in history.

S&P 500 futures were down 3 points, or 0.1%, to 2,179, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 21 points, or 0.1%, to 18,544. Nasdaq-100 futures lost 3 points, or 0.1%, to 4,797.

"Based on the [Producer Price Index] and retail-sales figures, all indications now look like a [Federal Reserve] rate hike in 2016 is clearly off the table," said Tom di Galoma managing director at Seaport Global Holdings, in an email shortly after the release.

Among individual retailers, J.C. Penney Co. Inc.'s (JCP) shares fell 2.4% in Friday premarket trading after the retailer reported narrower-than-expected second-quarter losses, though sales were just below estimates. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jc-penney-shares-fall-despite-smaller-second-quarter-losses-2016-08-12)

The weak data came just a day after on Thursday retailers like Nordstrom Inc.(JWN) , Macy's Inc.(M) and Kohl's Corp.(KSS) all posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nordstroms-stock-soars-amid-hopes-for-upbeat-results-for-a-change-2016-08-11) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nordstroms-stock-soars-amid-hopes-for-upbeat-results-for-a-change-2016-08-11)helping the broader market jump to all-time highs.

Macy's closed 17% higher on Thursday, while Kohl's gained 16%. Nordstrom was up 12% in thin premarket action Friday after reporting after the market's close Thursday.

Helped by the rally in retailers (XRT), the S&P 500 , Dow and Nasdaq Composite on Thursday all logged record closes on the same day (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/slumping-oil-prices-look-set-to-keep-lid-on-us-stock-rally-2016-08-11) for the first time since 1999. The gauges are up between 0.1% and 0.4% for the week, as of Thursday's close. The Nasdaq is on track for its seventh straight up week.

See:3 reasons this U.S. stock-market rally won't stop (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-time-its-different-3-reasons-the-us-stock-rally-wont-stop-2016-08-12)

Other markets: Oil futures were slightly higher following choppy action earlier, as Saudi Arabia sparked fresh hopes for a collective production freeze (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-extend-gains-after-saudi-hints-over-freeze-pact-2016-08-12). Crude is on track for a weekly gain of about 4%.

Asian markets closed higher, with some credit going to the upbeat U.S. action on Thursday. But European stocks were roughly flat (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-battle-for-the-black-and-another-win-2016-08-12), though still on track for sizeable weekly gains.

Economic news: Releases on August consumer sentiment and June business inventories are slated to arrive at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, with economists polled by MarketWatch forecasting a sentiment reading of 91.5.

Oil prices and energy stocks could move at 1 p.m. Eastern, when an update on North America's oil-rig count is expected.

Other individual movers: Beyond the retailers, Nvidia Corp. shares (NVDA) rose 3.1% in premarket trading after the maker of graphics chips late Thursday posted better-than-expected earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidia-rises-to-record-highs-before-and-after-earnings-report-2016-08-11).

Silicon Graphics International Corp.(SGI) jumped 28.6% in thin premarket action following news late Thursday that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.(HPE) plans to pay $275 million (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hewlett-packard-enterprise-buying-silicon-graphics-for-275-million-2016-08-11) for the maker of server, storage and software products.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2016 08:58 ET (12:58 GMT)