Stock markets close with mixed finish on Wall Street

Stocks drifted to a mixed finish Thursday as losses for banks and consumer products makers outweighed gains elsewhere in the market. A small loss for the S&P 500 Thursday broke a four-day winning streak for the benchmark index.

The market started lower after the government reported a surprise drop in retail sales in December, then clawed back much of those losses and drifted the rest of the day.

Coca-cola dropped 8.4 percent after saying the strong dollar could slow its sales. Cisco rose 1.9 percent after announcing a stock buyback.

The S&P 500 fell 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,745. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 103 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,439. The Nasdaq edged up 6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,426.

EPA outlines plan for dealing with toxic chemicals in water

Under pressure from Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it would move toward setting safety limits for a class of highly toxic chemicals contaminating drinking water in several states. Environmentalists said the agency wasn’t moving fast enough.

Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler released an “action plan” for dealing with the long-lasting substances, which have been linked to health threats ranging from cancer to decreased fertility. The perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, have turned up increasingly in public water systems and private wells.

Wheeler said the agency’s plan would help communities monitor, detect and address PFAS pollution.

– Associated Press