U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as investors mulled over several economic reports that showed a muddy picture of the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 60 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures dipped about 0.5%, and Nasdaq Composite lost 0.7%.
On Thursday, retail sales and initial jobless claims came in better than expected, but import prices saw a smaller drop than estimates suggested. While those reports suggest that the U.S. consumer sector is holding up, they will do little to alleviate concerns about persistent inflation.
Wall Street is coming off a choppy session in which the major averages posted modest gains. The Dow on Wednesday closed slightly higher, by 30 points, after falling more than 200 points at one point. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7%.
Stocks sought stability after a hotter-than-expected inflation report on Tuesday sent them tumbling to post their worst day since 2020. August’sconsumer price index report showed headline inflation rose 0.1% on a monthly basis, despite a drop in gas prices.
The stubbornly high inflation has led investors to fear that the Federal Reserve will be more aggressive with its rate hikes, raising the odds of a recession in the U.S.
“Monetary policy works with a 6- to 12-month lag. We believe the financial conditions have already tightened broadly enough across the U.S. economy to cause a shallow recession at the end of this year or the beginning of next,” Chris Senyek of Wolfe Research said in a note to clients. “Financial conditions will tighten even further as the Fed and other central banks continue to hike rates and pursue [quantitative tightening] in the months ahead.”