Stocks open slightly lower on Wall Street as technology lags
Stocks were slightly lower Thursday in quiet early trading as weakness in chipmakers and other tech companies offsets gains in other sectors including health care
TOKYO — Stocks were slightly lower Thursday in quiet early trading as weakness in chipmakers and other tech companies offsets gains in other sectors including health care.
The S&P 500 index was down 0.2% as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.4%.
Investors were working through a mixed picture of economic data. The Labor Department said that jobless claims fell to 375,000 from 387,000 the previous week, another sign that the job market is healing in the pandemic.
But at the same time, inflation at the wholesale level jumped a higher-than-expected 1% in July, matching the rise from the previous month, and dimming hopes that the upward trajectory of prices would begin to slow. The producer price index, as its better known, is up over the past 12 months a record 7.8%. That’s the largest increase in that span of time in a series going back to 2010.
Investors have been particularly concerned about inflation for several months, despite assurances from the Federal Reserve and other officials that any inflation would be temporary and a result of the economy recovering. Bond yields have risen sharply the last week on those concerns, with the 10-year Treasury note trading at 1.36% versus 1.34% the day before.
Earnings season remains underway but is beginning to wind down. Companies that will report their results later Thursday include Dow member Walt Disney, travel company Airbnb and delivery giant DoorDash.
