US Stock Market: DJIA, S&P500 and Nasdaq red in early trade on Thursday

Stocks hovered between small gains and losses in morning
trading on Wall Street Thursday, which led benchmark indexes in negative
territory for the week.

The S&P 500 fell 16.90 or 0.43% at 3,929.11 as of 10.35
am Eastern time. The benchmark index is down 3.1% for the week following the
biggest decline for the market in more than two years on Tuesday.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.94 points or
0.042% to 31,122. The Nasdaq Composite fell 72.77 points or 0.62% to 11,646.90.

Technology stocks were among the biggest losers in the
broader market. Adobe plunged 12.3% after it announced a $20 billion
acquisition of a design company and issued a disappointing revenue outlook.

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US crude oil prices fell 2.9% and pulled the energy stocks
down. Hess shed 2.4%.

Rail stocks were mostly higher after a tentative labor
agreement was reached, preventing a strike across the country that could have
been devastating to the economy. Union Pacific gained 2.6%.

Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which
helps determine mortgages and interest rates for other loans, increased to
3.44% from 3.405 late Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury rose to
3.83% from 3.79%.

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Investors are reviewing the latest report on retail sales,
which gave a mixed outlook of how consumers are coping with the highest
inflation in four decades. According to the government report, retail sales
rose an unexpected 0.3% in August after falling 0.4% in July. Inflation affects
spending in several areas, however, with business at restaurants still growing,
but at a slower pace, while furniture and online sales fell.

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As inflation continues to squeeze businesses and consumers,
consumer spending has been a strong point in the broader economy, along with
employment. High prices and the Federal Reserve’s aggressive policy to hike
interest rates as a solution remains Wall Street’s main concern.

On Tuesday, a hotter-than-expected August report on
consumer prices shocked the market and shattered hopes that the Fed might
consider easing its rate hikes. It was followed on Wednesday by a report that
wholesale prices are still rising.

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Investors are concerned that Fed might raise rates too high
or too quickly on an already slowing economy, potentially causing a recession.
The central bank has already raised its benchmark interest rate four times this
year, with the last two increases by 0.75 percentage points. Traders now see a
1-in-5 chance the Fed may hike its benchmark rate by a full percentage point
next week, four times the usual move, according to the CME Group.