US stocks opened lower Friday as the major indexes failed early on to build on a Thursday rally.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was down 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slumped by 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) lost 0.3%.
The moves Friday came as China reported that its economy picked up steam last month, easing concerns about the world’s second-largest economy. In the US, the United Auto Workers union officially launched a historic strike at select Big 3 automaker plants.
All eyes continued to be on British chipmaker Arm (ARM), which debuted on public markets on Thursday with a near-25% rise. Arm stock was up 5% in the early going on Friday.
The Wall Street benchmarks rallied on Thursday, after retail sales and wholesale price inflation for August came in hotter than expected. Those signs of resilience in the US consumer and of persistent price pressures make a case for more Fed rate hikes but also were signs that the Fed could be leading the US economy on the path to a soft landing.
A recent oil price rally has spurred the rises in inflation, with a significant effect on stocks. On Friday, WTI crude (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) futures took a slight break in the rally, dipping down from the 2023 highs hit on Thursday.
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