Home Depot Inc.'s lackluster results last quarter are adding toconcerns the U.S. housing market is slackening. The company blamedcool weather at the start of spring, its biggest sellingseason.

Revenue and comparable-store sales at the world's largesthome-improvement retailer missed analysts' estimates, althoughprofit beat projections for the 16th-straight quarter.

Home Depot's fortunes are so tightly intertwined with thehousing market that they are often viewed as a proxy for thesector. The rationale is simple: If Americans feel like theirproperties are rising in value, they'll spend more fixing themup.

But prices have been sagging in some parts of the U.S. andmortgage rates have risen. Labor shortages have also slowed thebuilding of new homes. While that can maintain demand for existingones, it often limits the number of first-time homebuyers.

Home Depot shares fell as much as 3.4% to $184.58 in premarkettrading. They had climbed 22% in the past year through Monday'sclose.

The retailer's quarterly results come amid mixed signals fromU.S. housing data. Pending home sales rose less than expected inMarch. Meanwhile, new home purchases hit a four-month high duringthe same period.

The company said that besides outdoor goods, its business lastquarter was solid across other categories. And sales have been“strong” so far this month as temperatures warmed up, according toChief Executive Officer Craig Menear.

As a sign of confidence that nothing had fundamentally changedits outlook for the health of the housing market, the companyreiterated its previous forecast for annual revenue of about $107.5billion and profit of $9.31 a share.

Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.