US stocks extend losses ahead of new inflation data

• Stocks fell Thursday, with losses deepening earlier in the week.

• The personal consumption expenditures price index will be released Friday morning.

• Shares of Salesforce dragged the Dow Jones lower after posting its first earnings miss in nearly 20 years.

U.S. stocks continued their painful slide Thursday as traders turned their attention to upcoming inflation data that could set the tone for the market heading into the summer months.

Even a brief glitch in the data feeds that update the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average couldn’t prevent a session decline. Around 10:40 a.m. ET, both indexes remained blocked on multiple websites, although individual stock prices continued to update normally.

The Dow ultimately ended the day down 330 points, marking its third consecutive daily decline and fourth in five sessions. Salesforce shares drag down the Dow the stock fell 20% after reporting its first revenue shortfall in nearly 20 years. The S&P 500 fell about 0.6%.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis will release the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index on Friday, with economists expecting the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation figure to show prices rose 2.7% year over year in April.

Bond yields fell after the downward revision of first-quarter GDP data and an uptick in jobless claims, pointing to a combination of factors that could give the Fed the ammunition it needs to start cut its rates at some point this year. The 10-year Treasury yield fell seven basis points to 4.554%.

“These numbers all point to a slowdown in growth and inflation. This maintains hopes of a rate cut and provides relief to investors after yields rose earlier this week,” David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation.

Yet Barclays economists noted that the revision does not take into account the more discrete factors that suggest continued strength.

“As with the preliminary estimate, we believe first-quarter GDP growth significantly underestimates underlying growth,” the bank said in a note, adding that the Fed would likely focus on metrics such as private domestic final purchases, which measure consumer and business demand.

Here’s where the US indices were at the 4 p.m. close on Thursday:

Here’s what happened today:

The story continues

In commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies:

• West Texas Intermediate Crude oil fell 1.6% to $77.95 a barrel. Brent crudethe international benchmark, fell 02% to $81.98 per barrel.

• Gold fell to $2,362 per ounce.

• The 10-year Treasury yield fell seven basis points to 4.554%.

• Bitcoin rose 1.9% to $68,712.08.

Read the original article on Business Insider