S&P 500 retreats after nearing record high

US stocks closed in on a new all-time high on Friday but failed to achieve it. The S&P 500 ended the day down 0.2 percent after having come within three points of a new record.

A report on Friday had shown that existing home sales in the US fell 5.1 percent in January. Inventory rose to 4.9 months of sales from 4.6 at the end of December.

Meanwhile, in the UK, retail sales fell 1.5 percent in January. The decline was the biggest since April 2012 but sales had jumped 2.5 percent in December.