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U.S. stocks open lower on weak economic signals

Xinhua, February 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday as Wall Street shifted its attention to a batch of weaker-than-expected economic data.

U.S. consumer prices in January posted their biggest drop since 2008 as gasoline prices continued to tumble, which could provide ammunition to Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low a bit longer.

The Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers declined 0.7 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday. The core CPI, the key figure that excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent in January.

In the week ending Feb. 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 313,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week's revised level, announced the Labor Department before the opening bell. Analysts had expected the figure to increase moderately to 285,000.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported Thursday that new orders for manufactured durable goods in January increased 2.8 percent to 236.1 billion dollars.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated Wednesday that normalization of interest rates would begin when the committee is confident that inflation is on track to hit the central bank's inflation target of 2 percent growth, during her semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the House Committee on Financial Services.

"Even when time comes to begin to raise our target for short-term interest rates, we will continue to provide a great deal of support for the economy and make sure that we will continue to see a good job market that continues to improve over time," said Yellen.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22.67 points, or 0.12 percent, to 18,201.90. The S&P 500 shed 2.38 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,111.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index ticked down 1.56 points, or 0.03 percent, to 4,965.58.

U.S. stocks ended mixed Wednesday after closing at record highs Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index snapping a ten-day winning streak, as Yellen's dovish tone was little changed during her second-day congressional testimony. Endi