US equity indexes were mixed in choppy midday trading on Friday as most government bond yields fell after fresh inflation data showed price pressures mostly eased.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 42,437.9 after touching a new intraday high of 42,628.32 earlier in the session. The S&P 500 stood little changed at 5,742.4. The Nasdaq Composite, however, fell 0.4% to 18,118. Energy and utilities led the gainers, with most sectors in the green after midday. Technology and consumer discretionary were among the trio of decliners.
In economic news, the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index rose 0.1% in August, right on expectations, slowing the year-over-year rate to 2.2% from 2.5% in July. The index rose by 0.2% month-over-month in July.
The core PCE, which excludes the more volatile food and energy prices, also increased 0.1%, below the 0.2% increase expected and following a 0.2% gain in July. The year-over-year rate accelerated to 2.7% in August from 2.6% in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised upward to 70.1 for September from 69 in the preliminary estimate, compared with expectations for 69.4 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. That move was above the final reading of 67.9 in August. Respondents expected a 2.7% inflation rate over the next year, slower than the 2.8% rate in August, while five-year inflation expectations accelerated to 3.1% after holding at 3% in the previous five months.
Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down 3.7 basis points to 3.75%, and the two-year rate 5.4 basis points lower at 3.57%.
In company news, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) has obtained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Cobenfy drug to treat schizophrenia in adults.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.1% to $68.41 a barrel.
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