NEW YORK -- Stocks fell, sending Wall Street into a rare losing week, just the second in the last 16.&The P 500 fell 0.5% on Friday after a report on wholesale inflation was more interesting than expected. The benchmark index hit a record high the previous day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.8%. The inflation report was the latest reminder that the battle against rising prices is not over. Treasury yields rose after the data kept the door closed on hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates in March.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's previous story follows below.
Another hotter-than-expected inflation update keeps US stocks in check on Friday.
the&The P 500 fell 0.2% in afternoon trading, paring some of its earlier morning losses. It is approaching its all-time high set the previous day, but is on track to post only its second week of losses since late October.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 65 points, or 0.2%, as of 2:46 p.m. ET, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.4%.
Friday's report on wholesale inflation was the latest reminder that the battle against rising prices is not over. Prices rose more in January than economists expected, and the figures followed a similar report earlier in the week that showed living costs for U.S. consumers rose more than expected.
Treasury yields rose in the bond market immediately after the report was released. The data kept the door closed on hopes that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates in March, as traders had previously expected. It also dampened bets that a move by the Fed to ease conditions in the economy and financial markets could occur as early as May.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.29% from 4.24% late Thursday, and earlier approached its highest level since November. Higher rates and yields make borrowing more expensive, slowing the economy and hurting investment prices.
Still, the recalibrated bets in favor of rate cuts have simply moved Wall Street's forecasts closer to what the Federal Reserve has been outlining. Critics have said traders' expectations had been overstated as to how quickly and to what extent the Fed could cut rates in 2024. The expectation for the Fed's next move remains a cut in its interest rate. main, which is at its highest level since 2001. , as it is said it will probably work.
Meanwhile, the hope is that the economy will remain strong despite high interest rates.
A preliminary report on Thursday suggested that confidence among U.S. consumers continues to rise, although not as much as economists expected. This is key because consumer spending makes up the majority of the economy. In a potentially discouraging sign, the University of Michigan report also said inflation expectations over the next 12 months rose to 3% in February from 2.9% in January.
If the economy remains resilient, it would allow companies to increase their profits.
Applied Materials rose 7.6% after it reported stronger fourth-quarter earnings than analysts expected. The company designs and manufactures systems used to make semiconductor chips and is benefiting from the frenzy underway for artificial intelligence technology.
Cryptocurrency company Coinbase Global jumped 11.6% after reporting much better-than-expected results. Higher cryptocurrency prices helped generate more transaction revenue for the company.
The loser was Digital Realty, which sank 8%. The data center owner reported weaker than expected results.
In stock ExchangeOverseas, indices rose in much of Europe and Asia.
In Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% and approached its record high set in late 1989. That was just before Japan's economic โbubbleโ burst when stock and goods prices roots collapsed.
Japanese stocks have been rising even as its economy has shrunk to become the world's fourth largest.
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AP Business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
