US stocks slip lower; still on course for hefty weekly gains

U.S. stocks slipped lower Friday, but remained on course for weekly gains as reasonably healthy data helped ease concerns over an economic slowdown. 

At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 30 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 dropped 13 points, or 0.2%, and NASDAQ Composite slipped 60 points, or 0.6%.

The broad-based S&P 500  is still on track for a gain of over 3% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite  more than 5%, which would be their biggest weekly gains since November. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average  has climbed more than 2% this week, which would also mark its best performance this year. Michigan data ahead of Jackson Hole 

Softer U.S. inflation data this week has put an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve for the first time in more than four years firmly on the agenda at its next meeting in September, although healthy labor market data as well as retail sales suggest a 25-basis-point cut rather than anything more aggressive.

There is University of Michigan sentiment data to study later in the session, but a lot of attention will be on next week's central bank gathering in Jackson Hole , Wyoming, as U.S. Fed chief Jerome Powell gets a chance to fine-tune his message before September's monetary policy meeting.  Ford to recall 85,000 SUVs 

In corporate news, Ford (NYSE:F ) stock fell 0.6% after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Friday the auto giant is recalling about 85,000 Explorer SUVs equipped with the Police Interceptor Utility package over concerns of an engine fire.

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN ) stock fell 0.4 % despite the semiconductor company signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

The agreement outlines up to $1.6 billion in proposed direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to support the construction of three 300mm semiconductor wafer fabs in Texas and Utah. Crude slip on China concerns

Crude prices fell Friday after a series of weak indicators from China reignited concerns about demand growth from the world's top importer.

By 09:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) dropped 2.2% to $76.45 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 2% to $79.44 a barrel.

The country’s oil imports fell for a second consecutive month in July, while a slew of economic readings for the month read mostly negative. 

Additionally, China's diesel demand fell by 11% year over year to 3.9 million barrels per day in June, the biggest percentage drop since July 2021, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.

Concerns over China saw both the OPEC  and the IEA  downgrade their forecasts for oil demand growth in 2024, with the two citing policy uncertainty in the country and persistent weakness in its economy. 

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

Source: Investing.com