The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined for a fifth-straight day Friday amid economic uncertainty.
The blue-chip index sank 52.08 points to 34,827.30,
The S&P 500 recovered 4.02 points to 4,497.30
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 39.47 points, to 15,287.73.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow is down 1.5% and on pace for its second negative week in a row. The S&P 500 is off by about 0.9% for the week, while the NASDAQ is 0.5% lower.
Investors are worried about persistent COVID cases slowing the economy just as hot inflation causes the Federal Reserve to take away easy policies.
The August producer prices index released Friday showed wholesale costs for businesses rose 8.3% on an annual basis, its biggest advance on record since at least 2010. The PPI accelerated 0.7% for the month, above the 0.6% Dow Jones estimate. The more important consumer price index for August will be released on Tuesday.
Investors remained cautious as they try to discern what’s next to happen with the delta variant, the economic reopening and the Federal Reserve.
The Fed meets on Sep. 21-22 and investors are worried the central bank will indicate a move to slow down its monthly $120 billion in bond purchases, which have kept rates low and boosted the recovery from the pandemic.
Also helping sentiment was a better-than-expected weekly reading on jobless claims. Initial jobless claims came in 310,000, which was below expectations of 335,000 claims. This marked another fresh low for the pandemic era.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained ground, lowering yields to 1.33% from Thursday’s 1.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recaptured $1.48 to $69.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $4.90 to $1,797.40 U.S. an ounce.