The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, a broad-based collection of stocks, continued its five-week winning streak Friday, but the Dow Jones dropped on increased worries about inflation.
Consumer prices in the United States were up a seasonally adjusted 0.4 per cent in February due to more expensive petrol, the Labour Department said. Seasonally adjusted petrol prices were up 6 per cent last month from January, accounting for 80 per cent of the increase.
On Tuesday, the rate-setting U.S. Federal Reserve reiterated its expectation of maintaining interest rates - currently near zero - at “exceptionally low levels” until at least late 2014 because longer-term inflation expectations “remained stable.” The blue-chip Dow Jones Index shed 20.14 points or 0.15 per cent to 13,232.62. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.57 points or 0.11 per cent to 1,404.17. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.11 points or 0.04 per cent to 3,055.26.
The U.S. currency fell against the euro to 75.9 euro cents from 76.44 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar also slumped against the Japanese currency to 83.44 from 83.51 yen.
