The U.S. equity markets started off the final day of the week in negative territory, but managed to regain some lost ground late in the session. The news was relatively light on the economic front. The Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales were up 0.5% last month, which was slightly below expectations. On the plus side, the figures for April were revised upward, to a gain of 0.3%, versus the original estimate of a 0.2% decline. Meanwhile, industrial production was up 0.4% in May, slightly ahead of the consensus.