From Nasdaq:

U.S. stocks experienced little change on Thursday amid concerns of inflation and labor market strength, dampening hopes for early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. However, a fall in Treasury yields kept losses in check. Equities opened higher and the S&P 500 briefly surpassed its record closing high from January 2022 before erasing initial gains.

Stocks closed the year with a strong rally, but have struggled to find upward momentum as mixed economic data and comments from Fed officials have led investors to scale back expectations for any rate cuts. The S&P 500 is only up 0.21% for the year.

Consumer prices in the U.S. rose more than expected in December, with Americans paying more for shelter and healthcare. Separate reports showed an unexpected drop in unemployment benefit claims last week to 202,000.

Comments from some Fed officials pushed back on potential rate cuts, with Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin saying they need more information before making any decisions.

A fall in Treasury yields kept losses for equities in check after a successful auction of $21 billion in 30-year bonds.

Microsoft briefly became more valuable than Apple, following concerns over falling demand for Apple products. Nearly all major sectors of the S&P 500 declined, except energy and technology.

Citigroup’s shares declined on news the lender booked about $3.8 billion in charges and reserves. Other banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, also fell.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers, and the S&P index recorded 40 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 109 new highs and 138 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.41 billion shares, compared with the 12.27 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.



Read more: Wall Street little changed after inflation, labor market data