Investing.com-- The Dow closed lower Thursday, snapping a three-day win streak as data showing inflation is running hotter-than-expected and signs that the consumer is pulling back weighed on investor sentiment.
At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT), the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, NASDAQ Composite fell 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, or 137 points.
PPI inflation, retail sales on tap as Fed meeting looms
Headline PPI inflation rose 0.6% month-on-month in February, data released earlier Thursday showed, taking the annualized rate to 1.6%, well above expectations for a 1.1% pace.
The faster pace of wholesale inflation arrived on the heels of data showing signs of a weaker consumer after U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% month-on-month in February, below the 0.8% increase expected.
The signs of slowing consumer spending comes even as the latest data showed Americans filing for unemployment claims stood at 209,000 for the week ended March 9, indicating the labor market remains under pressure.
The recent data isn't "likely to affect the Fed's trajectory on rate cuts as the trend of slowing inflation is still there," Rob Conzo CEO at The Wealth Alliance told Investing.com's Yasin Ebrahim in an interview on Thursday.
"I think they [the Fed] will deliver two or three cuts in the second half of the year," Conzo said, adding that he remains bullish on the market. The economy "is in the soft landing period right now" and there is "a lot of good" in the recent economic and earnings data, Conzo said.
The Fed kicks off its two-day meeting on Mar. 19 that is expected to result in an unchanged decision on interest rates, leaving many focused the bank's updated economic and rate outlook that will accompany the decision.
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Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) stock soared 5% after the brokerage reported strong growth in assets under custody for the month of February, while Dollar General (NYSE:DG) surged 5.6% after the discount retailer forecast upbeat 2024 sales, expecting steady demand from price-conscious shoppers.
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(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)