US open: Stocks lower as traders digest January PPI figures

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading kicked off with some losses early on Friday as market participants digested some fresh inflation data. As of 1600 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.20% at 38,696.69, while the S&P 500 lost 0.20% to 5,019.66 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.46% weaker at 15,833.34.

The Dow opened 76.43 points lower on Friday, taking a modest bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

Friday's primary focus was January's producer price index, which revealed wholesale prices in America had risen more quickly than anticipated. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the producer price index rose at a month-on-month pace of 0.3%. On an annualised basis, the rate of increase in headline producer prices dipped from 1.0% in December to 0.9% in January.

Food prices declined by 0.3% in comparison to the prior month, while those for energy fell by 1.7%. Services prices, on the other hand, jumped by 0.6%.

Elsewhere on the macro front, housing starts slumped 14.8% month-on-month to 1.33m in January, according to the Census Bureau, missing market forecasts for a reading of 1.46m, while building permits dropped 1.5% to 1.47m, down from 1.49m in December.

Finally, consumer confidence was little changed in early February, albeit after two months of large gains, according to preliminary results for the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index, which saw it print at 79.6 in February, versus a reading of 79.0 for January. Economists had pencilled-in a reading of 80.0.

In the corporate space, delivery service DoorDash was in the red after reporting a wider-than-expected loss, while digital advertising company Trade Desk traded higher after topping revenue estimates with its Q4 earnings and issuing some upbeat guidance for Q1, and semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials was also sharply higher on the back of its own positive quarterly numbers.

Markets will be closed on Monday in observance of the Presidents' Day public holiday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $327.45 1.35% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $55.80 1.14% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $170.46 0.69% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $158.01 0.63% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $187.99 0.60% American Express Co. (AXP) $213.70 0.55% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $362.20 0.31% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $386.27 0.22% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $154.80 0.22% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $126.78 0.19%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $101.96 -3.85% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $284.39 -1.62% Intel Corp. (INTC) $43.58 -1.07% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $22.06 -1.03% Boeing Co. (BA) $203.24 -1.02% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $156.50 -0.84% 3M Co. (MMM) $91.58 -0.78% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.35 -0.58% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $290.25 -0.58% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $290.48 -0.47%

S&P 500 - Risers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $200.91 7.06% Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $257.13 6.05% Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $123.86 5.41% Dollar General Corp (DG) $141.71 4.94% Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $39.45 3.14% Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $778.73 2.76% DaVita Inc (DVA) $122.93 2.56% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $934.13 2.23% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $666.36 2.14% PVH Corp. (PVH) $130.79 2.11%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) $139.08 -6.41% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $564.48 -4.40% Nike Inc. (NKE) $101.74 -4.06% TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $26.81 -3.07% Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $68.36 -2.70% VF Corp. (VFC) $16.65 -2.38% Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $71.69 -2.29% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $54.74 -2.28% Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $4.24 -2.19% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $473.60 -2.15%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $200.91 7.06% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.09 5.34% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $24.45 3.80% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $934.13 2.23% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $109.13 2.14% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $666.36 2.14% Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $41.56 1.50% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $734.41 1.08% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $938.00 0.88% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $143.19 0.73%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $18.83 -7.81% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $17.94 -6.95% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $564.48 -4.40% Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $71.69 -2.29% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $54.74 -2.28% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $473.60 -2.15% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $79.90 -2.12% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $219.10 -1.90% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $283.92 -1.78% Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $55.21 -1.71%