04:07 PM EDT, 03/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets ended lower Thursday as investors assessed hotter-than-expected producer prices.

* US producer price index rose by 0.6% in February following a 0.3% increase in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, above the expected 0.3% gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. After excluding food and energy prices, core PPI increased by 0.3%, above the 0.2% gain expected and following a 0.5% gain in the previous month.

* US retail sales increased 0.6% in February following January's downwardly revised 1.1% decline, the Census Bureau said. Analysts expected a 0.8% increase, according to a consensus survey compiled by Bloomberg.

* April West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $1.38 to $81.10 per barrel, while May Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $1.16 to $85.19 after the International Energy Agency said it expects global inventories to tighten for the entire year due to continuing production cuts from OPEC+.

* Dollar General ( DG ) shares fell 5% after the company reported lower earnings and sales in fiscal Q4.

* Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) shares jumped 15% after the company reported higher-than-expected non-GAAP earnings and sales in fiscal Q4.