US: Stocks dip as wholesale inflation edges up

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks opened slightly lower Friday following US data that showed slightly stronger-than-expected wholesale inflation.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,405.72, down 2.53 points (0.01 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.34 (0.02 per cent) to 2,083.05, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 6.58 (0.13 per cent) to 5,026.98.

The Labour Department said its producer price index (PPI) rose 0.2 per cent in July, just above the 0.1 per cent increase projected by analysts.

The Federal Reserve has spotlighted the need for stronger inflation as a leading condition to hike interest rates.

The inflation report came in "a bit stronger than expected," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"The headline is really the sentiment issue for the market, which thinks the Federal Reserve is looking for any excuse to raise the fed funds rate soon."

AFP