Retail sales disappoint; Facebook's news hosting; Tweet your pizza order

Bill McColl

Investors in a cautious mood following a disappointing report on America's shoppers.

Stocks (^GSPC) losing some of their early momentum after the Commerce Department said retail sales were flat in April.

Yahoo Finance's Aaron Task says this adds to the growing signs that consumers are still keeping a tight hold on their wallets.

"Again, another weaker-than-expected number," he points out.  "This idea that weaker gas prices were going to lead to a big boost in retail sales just never materialized."

But Task isn't sure Wall Street will be too concerned...at least just yet.

"I still think we're in this arena where bad news is good news for the market because there's still concern about when the Fed is going to raise rates," he notes. "But it is a disappointment, there's no other way to paint it."

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Macy's comes up short

Here’s a look at some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be watching for you today.

Macy's (M) shares are lower in early trading. The department store chain reporting first quarter profit and revenue that missed analysts' forecasts.  And Macy's says sales at stores opened at least a year DECLINED in the period.  The company blames the West Coast port strike, bad weather and a drop in spending by foreign visitors at its stores. On the plus side for investors, the retailer is also boosting its dividend by 15%.

Pall (PLL) shares are higher ahead of the open. The water filtration company has agreed to be bought by industrial and health care technology firm Danaher (DHR) in a deal valued at $13.8 billion or $127.20 per share in cash and debt. Danaher says it plans to split into two publicly traded companies after the deal.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) shares are higher in early trading after the airline announced it will buy back $5 billion worth of stock and increase its quarterly dividend to 13.5 cents per share--that's up from 9 cents.  

Shake Shack (SHAK) shares are also in focus. The burger joint is set to report earnings after the close today.  Analysts' are looking for the restaurant chain to post a loss of $0.03 a share on revenue of $34 million.

Facebook has a nose for news

Facebook (FB) is announcing a partnership with nine news sites to host their content on the Facebook mobile app. Users will be able to read articles directly on the app, rather than clicking through to another site.

Starting next week, Domino's (DPZ) will allow customers to use their Twitter (TWTR) account to tweet their orders for pizza. Frequent customers will be able to order by simply tweeting a pizza emoji to Domino's.