US stocks dip on Walmart, middling data

US stocks Thursday took a pause from a recent winning streak, selling off after a disappointing earnings report from Walmart and some middling economic data.

US stocks Thursday took a pause from a recent winning streak, selling off after a disappointing earnings report from Walmart and some middling economic data.

Asian shares were mixed on Thursday despite another record US stocks close and fresh data that showed Japan’s economy grew faster than expected in the quarter to March.

Toyota has accelerated past South Korea’s Samsung Electronics to become Asia’s biggest company by market value, after the Japanese automaker’s shares doubled in the past year.

China on Thursday warned the European Union against escalating bilateral trade disputes, urging Brussels to drop plans to probe Chinese telecom products and impose hefty taxes on its solar panels.

The Sun has unleashed three potent solar flares in just under 24 hours, marking the most intense activity yet this year and causing limited interruptions to high-frequency radio communications.

Malaysia’s economy grew a solid but slower than expected 4.1 percent in the first quarter as weak manufacturing and mining dragged on overall performance, according to data announced Wednesday.

US stocks closed at new all-time highs following a choppy day of trading Wednesday as investors shrugged off more economic gloom from the eurozone.

Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday, with the tumbling yen pushing Japanese stocks to a fresh multi-year high as improving confidence in the US economy boosted prospects for regional exporters.

France entered a recession in the first quarter this year with gross domestic product contracting 0.2 percent, after shrinking the same amount in the last quarter of 2012, the official INSEE statistics office said Wednesday.

Singapore Telecom said Wednesday its net profit fell 32.6 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, weighed down by a loss on the sale of its stake in a Pakistani mobile phone firm.

US stocks Tuesday surged to new all-time closing highs on renewed optimism after a prominent hedge fund manager said the stock rally of 2013 still has more room to go.

Asian shares were mixed Tuesday, with the dollar’s rally against the yen stumbling despite better than expected US retail figures that highlighted a steady recovery in the world’s largest economy.