Washington, December 15: US shares fell back from 2009 highs in early trade on Tuesday as investors turned cautious in the face of mixed economic news and ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting on monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35.90 points (0.34 per cent) to 10,465.15 in the first trades, a day after a modest rally pushed blue chips to their highest close since October 2008.
The technology-rich Nasdaq composite dipped 8.97 points (0.41 per cent) to 2,203.13 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 4.30 points (0.39 per cent) to 1,109.81.
The market opened after data showed a surprising 1.8 per cent jump in US wholesale prices, including a 0.5 per cent gain in core inflation excluding food and energy.
A more positive surprise came on industrial production, which rose a stronger-than-expected 0.8 per cent last month.
Joel Naroff at Naroff Economic Advisers said the report on prices might send a chill through the markets, raising doubts about the notion that inflation is in check, which has enabled the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low.
“Equity investors could take this report as a cautionary signal,” he said.
“Still, the large rise in industrial production should be a signal that the recovery is on track.”
The Fed was set to open its two day meeting amid expectations of no change in its near-zero interest rate policy and massive stimulus effort. But analysts will watch for any change in the Fed statement for guidance on future policy.
—Agencies