Stocks are off to a mixed start, remain lower for the week

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are off to a slightly higher start on Wall Street but major indexes remain lower for the week after several days of declines. Technology and health care companies were higher in the early going Wednesday, while energy companies fell along with crude oil prices. The S&P 500 was just barely in the green, the Nasdaq was about half a percent higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed. Bed Bath & Beyond lost about a quarter of its value after announcing a major restructuring and a stock sale. Treasury yields were slightly higher. European markets were lower and Asian markets closed mixed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street was pointing toward small gains before the opening bell on Wednesday as markets try to break a three-day selloff spurred by comments last week from Federal Reserve officials suggesting more interest rate increases were likely.

Futures for the benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.4% and futures for the Dow industrials were up 0.2% before the bell.

Strong U.S. employment data also helped fuel expectations of more interest rate hikes. The Labor Department reported Tuesday there were two jobs for every unemployed person in July, giving ammunition to Fed officials who argue the economy can tolerate more rate hikes to tame inflation that is at multi-decade highs. Some investors had hoped the Fed would back off due to signs economic activity is cooling.

The jobs data “supported the argument for the Fed to stick to an aggressive stance,” Edward Moya of Oanda said in a report.

More employment reports are on tap for later in the week, with jobless benefits data coming Thursday and the August jobs report scheduled for Friday. Analysts expect both to show a robust labor market.

In Europe, markets fell after a report on Wednesday showed that inflation in countries using the euro currency hit another record in August, fueled by soaring energy prices mainly driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The FTSE 100 in London fell 1.2%, the DAX in Frankfurt shed 0.3% and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.7%.

Annual inflation in the eurozone’s 19 countries rose to 9.1%, up from 8.9% in July, according to the European Union statistics agency Eurostat.

Inflation is at the highest levels since record-keeping for the euro began in 1997. The latest figures add pressure on European Central Bank officials to continue raising interest rates, which can tame inflation, but also stifle economic growth.

Investors worry rate hikes by the Fed and central banks in Europe and Asia to cool inflation might derail global economic growth.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday indicated it will stick to rate hikes.

The Fed has raised rates four times this year. Two of those were by 0.75 percentage points, three times the usual margin. Traders appear to expect another 0.75 percentage point hike in September, a half point in November and 0.25 points in December, according to Moya.

“If the labor market doesn’t break and the consumer remains resilient, Wall Street might start pricing in rate hikes for February and March,” Moya wrote.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8% to 3,202.14 after an index of manufacturing showed activity contracted again in August. The Hang Seng ended up less than 0.1% at 19,954.39 after spending most of the day in negative territory.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.4% to 28,091.53 after July industrial production rose by an unexpectedly strong 1% over the previous month.

The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.9% to 2,472.05 after July factory output declined 1.3% compared with the previous month.

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 6,986.80. New Zealand advanced while Singapore and Indonesia declined. Indian markets were closed for a holiday.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude fell $2.70 to $88.94 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $5.37 to $91.64 on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international trading, fell $2.78 to $95.06 per barrel in London.

The dollar edged up to 138.76 yen from Tuesday’s 138.67 yen. The euro declined to just under $1 from $1.0021.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index fell 1.1%, bringing its decline over the past five days to 5.5%. The Dow dropped 1% and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.1%.