© Reuters.
biedexmarkets.com — U.S. stocks edged lower in early New York trading on Friday after fresh data showed that wholesale prices in the world’s biggest economy rose at a faster-than-anticipated rate in January.
By 09:38 ET (14:38 GMT), the benchmark had dipped by 0.2%, the tech-heavy was mostly unchanged, and the blue-chip had fallen by 0.4%.
The U.S. producer price index increased 0.3% last month following a revised decline of 0.1% in December, Labor Department figures showed on Friday. Economists had predicted a rise of 0.1%.
U.S. Treasury yields, which typically move inversely to prices, ticked higher following the report, weighing on equities. The numbers were the latest sign of sticky U.S. inflation, a trend that has all but eradicated bets for imminent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
On Friday, traders will keeping an eye out for further rate commentary from Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr, and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly.
In a note, analysts at ING said they expect to hear more from Fed policymakers in the coming days about an anticipated “bumpy” path to the U.S. central bank’s 2% inflation target. “[B]ut we still think this [is] the true direction of travel,” the analysts added.
In individual stocks, Coinbase (NASDAQ:) posted fourth-quarter income that topped Wall Street estimates, sending shares sharply higher, as the approval of spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds boosted activity on the crypto exchange platform.
The company reported earnings per diluted share of $1.04 in the three months ended on Dec. 31, above expectations for a loss of $0.01 per share, according to LSEG data cited Reuters via biedexmarkets.com. Trading volumes climbed to $154B from $145B in the same period a year earlier.
Elsewhere, DoorDash (NASDAQ:) shares dropped after the delivery firm unveiled a wider-than-projected fourth-quarter loss due in part to elevated labor costs, while semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials (NASDAQ:) popped on a positive second-quarter revenue outlook fueled by strong demand for advanced chips used in artificial intelligence.
Oil prices were higher on Friday, reversing earlier losses. {8833|Brent oil futures}} expiring in April had gained 0.2% to $83.00 a barrel, while had climbed by 0.3% to $77.84 per barrel by 09:38 ET.
Crude prices were set for mild weekly gains after clocking volatile swings through the week.
Oliver Gray contributed to this report.
