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* US production prices rise solidly in August
* Indices: 0.29% drop, S&P 0.13%, Nasdaq 0.03% (updates to open)
September 10 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Dow Jones struggled for gains on Friday as they show inflation was here to keep expectations overshadowed by a easing of US-China tensions, while the rise of heavy technology companies supported the Nasdaq.
Data from the previous day showed that US production prices rose solidly in August, leading to the largest annual increase in almost 11 years, as the incessant pandemic continues to put pressure on supply chains.
“Today’s data on wholesale prices should be open to the Federal Reserve, as inflationary pressures do not yet appear to be easing and will likely continue to be felt by consumers in the coming months,” Charlie Ripley said. , senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management.
The market was also weighed down by comments from Cleveland Federal Reserve Chairman Loretta Mester, who would still like the central bank to start lowering asset purchases this year despite the weak August employment report.
High-flying growth stocks, such as Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., rose early in trading, supporting the Nasdaq.
A phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, early days, their first talks in seven months, was seen as a positive sign that could lead to a loosening of ties between the two largest trading partners. important in the world.
Chinese e-commerce companies Alibaba and JD.com, listed in the United States, the firm Didi, the music transmission company Tencent Music and the electric car manufacturer Nio Inc., gained between 1.1% and 1.8%.
Seven of the eleven S&P 500 subscripts were withdrawn, with public service, real estate and health services falling.
At 10:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 101.60 points, or 0.29%, to 34,777.78, the S&P 500 was down 5.72 points, or 0.13%, to 4,487.56. and the Nasdaq Composite rose 3.92 points or 0.03% to 15,252.18.
All indexes were well on track to end the week lower.
Grocer Kroger Co. fell 9.0%, even after saying it expected a smaller decline in annual sales at the same store.
Declining problems outpaced the outposts for a ratio of 1.08 to 1 on the NYSE and for a ratio of 1.46 to 1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 12 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq posted 41 new highs and 24 new lows. (Report by Shashank Nayar and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; edited by Aditya Soni)