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Investing.com — Stocks on Wall Street had a mixed start to trading on Friday, as investors parsed through a busy week of quarterly corporate results and a yearly revision to U.S. inflation data.
By 09:42 ET (14:42 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 had added 0.1%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.3%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average had inched down by 0.1%.
On Thursday, the three main averages closed in the green, puttting them on pace to post their fifth-consecutive weekly gain.
A revised print of U.S. consumer price index data showed that the annualized rate of inflation in the fourth quarter was unchanged at 3.3%, suggesting that an easing in price pressures throughout last year is still in tact. Officials at the Federal Reserve had said that they would be keeping an eye on the updated reading, as they assess the path ahead for interest rates.
In individual stocks, PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) unveiled a full-year forecast for organic revenue growth of at least 4%, below Bloomberg consensus expectations of 5.2%, as the food and beverage group flagged waning benefits from elevated prices. However, fourth-quarter core per-share earnings beat estimates. Shares in the Doritos chips owner were lower in early trading.
Shares in Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) tumbled after the social media company missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations and issued soft guidance for the March quarter.
Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) shares spiked after the internet firm unveiled first-quarter income and revenue guidance that topped Wall Street expectations.
Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) Interactive has cut its annual bookings guidance, citing projected softness for titles like “NBA 2K24” and a planned release moving out of its fiscal fourth quarter. Shares in the video game publisher fell sharply.
Oil prices were higher, as ongoing violence in the Middle East showed little signs of abating after Israel rejected a ceasefire offer from Hamas.
At 09:45 ET, the Brent oil futures contract expiring in April was up 0.9% at $82.40 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed by 1.3% to $77.22 per barrel.
Israeli forces carried out an attack on on the southern border city of Rafah on Thursday following a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refuse to bring hostilities to a halt. Crude prices rose in the prior session.
Source: Investing.com
