US stocks mixed as investors digest PPI, consumer sentiment data

Wall Street is mixed as investors analyze inflation and consumer sentiment reports for potential clues about the Fed’s interest rate move.

The S&P 500 added 0.4% in the early going, but the benchmark index is still on pace for its second losing week in a row. Most Wall Street traders are still betting the central bank will not change the fed funds rate at its policy meeting next month.

However, the bond market’s reaction signals that investors think the Fed will probably raise interest rates. Traders are still weighing whether to raise interest rates in September.

The wholesale prices data follows the release of the government’s consumer price index, which showed US consumers paid prices 3.2% higher in July than a year earlier. The Labour Department reported a 0.8% increase in the producer price index, which measures inflation before it hits consumers.

Asian stock markets declined on Friday due to higher US inflation, causing unease about the global economy’s outlook. The modest increase in wholesale prices last month could persuade the Fed to continue its efforts to reduce inflation and encourage another rate hike before the Fed reaches its terminal rate.