Costco Wholesale Corp COST.O slipped 2% after the membership-only retailer reported a fall in gross margins, hit by soaring freight and labor costs across the United States. ET is expected to show consumer spending rose 0.7% in April, easing from a stronger 1.1% in March, as inflation stays hot in the wake of higher fuel and food prices. Wall Street's main indexes closed sharply higher on Thursday after some optimistic retail earnings outlook, mixed economic data and less-hawkish minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting brought back buyers into the market on waning concerns about aggressive interest rate hikes.