NEW YORK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks shaved early gains to trade lower around midday on Wednesday as investors digested a batch of generally downbeat economic reports.

By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 271.25 points, or 1.08 percent, to 24,735.78. The S&P 500 decreased 13.22 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,752.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 23.37 points, or 0.31 percent, to 7,487.64.

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February 2018 came in at 492 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of 0.1 percent from the previous month, missing market consensus of a 0.4-percent gain, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

"Retail sales continue to disappoint, especially the biggest ticket auto and furniture components. GDP estimates will be revised down again. With consumption now tracking 1.8 percent, look for the Atlanta Fed to revise from 2.5 percent to 2.2 percent," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index for final demand advanced 0.2 percent in February, seasonally adjusted, in line with market estimates, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index increased 2.8 percent for the 12 months ended in February.

Investors also kept a close eye on the White House, after President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and announced he will be replaced by Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo.

U.S. stocks reversed early gains to end sharply lower on Tuesday as investors meditated on the newly released consumer price data. Enditem