US stocks fell in choppy trading on Thursday as investors weighed on several economic reports that presented a murky picture of the US economy.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4%, while the S&P 500 fell 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 158 points, or 0.5%.
Adobe shares fell 13% after the company announced a $20 billion deal to buy Figma, which weighs on the Nasdaq. Oil giant Chevron fell 2%, hurting the Dow.
Financial stocks outperformed, with Goldman Sachs up 1.3% and JPMorgan climbing 1%.
On Thursday, initial jobless claims came in better than expected, but import prices saw a smaller decline than suggested estimates. Retail sales beat expectations, but were negative when excluding autos. Manufacturing data also showed an economic slowdown. While those reports suggest that the US consumer sector is holding its ground for now, they will do nothing to ease concerns about persistent inflation.
Wall Street is coming off a volatile session in which the major averages posted modest gains, but made a slight dent in Tuesday’s massive sell-off. Wall Street is still trying to find its footing after a surprise increase in the August consumer price index report sent the Dow down more than 1,200 points on Tuesday.
Stubbornly high inflation has led investors to fear that the Federal Reserve will be more aggressive in its rate hikes, raising the possibility of a US recession.
“The Fed needs to pick their poison. Do you continue aggressively to reduce inflation at the risk of recession, at the risk of rising unemployment? It’s really a dilemma, but I think we’ve given The focus we’ve heard from the Fed is definitely on inflation,” said Mike Loewengart, head of model portfolio construction at Morgan Stanley.