Thursday morning trading on Wall Street saw a little decline in stock prices, keeping most major indices down for the week.
The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 10:25 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79 points, or 0.2%, to 33,904 and the Nasdaq fell 0.2%, reports AP.
Big technology and communications stocks, along with retailers, had some of the biggest losses. Amazon fell 1%.
Energy stocks made solid gains as U.S. crude oil prices rose 2%. Devon Energy rose 4.4%.
Bond yields decreased. Mortgage rates are influenced by the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which decreased late on Wednesday from 2.90% to 2.86%.
The major indices have moved lower overall and in turbulent trading after the benchmark S&P 500 had a four-week winning streak. Investors are nonetheless concerned about the impact of persistently high inflation on consumers and businesses.
Financial results from big retailers and economic updates throughout the week have shown that the economy remains under pressure from inflation, but has several pockets of resiliency.
Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to the Labor Department, as the labor market continues to stand out as one of the strongest segments of the U.S. economy.
The positive update on the labor market comes after an upbeat report on Wednesday that revealed retail sales are still strong despite the highest inflation in forty years.
Investors have been closely watching the Federal Reserve for any reaction to shifts in inflation or the economy.
The central bank has been raising interest rates in an effort to slow the economy and cool inflation, but Wall Street is concerned it could slam the brakes too hard and veer into a recession instead.
Any sign that inflation is peaking or cooling has given Wall Street hope that the Fed could consider easing up on rate hikes.
It raised its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a point for a second-straight time during its meeting in July and is expected to raise the rate by a half-percentage point at its upcoming meeting.
