US stocks open higher at the end of another bruising week

NEW YORK — Stocks fell in late morning trading on Wall Street Friday and are headed for another week of declines following a massive pullback two days ago.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 11: 27 a.m. Eastern, and is on track for its seventh straight weekly decline after getting close to entering a bear market this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 211 points, or 0.7%, to 31,041 and the Nasdaq fell 0.9%.

All three are expected to drop by 3% or more this week.

Technology stocks fell broadly and weighed down the market. Applied Materials, which makes chipmaking equipment, lost 5.1%. The market has seen many big swings this week because of the tech sector, which has been especially volatile. Many companies in this sector have high stock values, which gives them more leverage to pull the wider market higher or lower.

Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2. 81% from 2. 85% late Thursday.

The stock market remains stuck in a slump amid worries about how inflation is squeezing businesses and consumers. Investors are also worried about the Federal Reserve’s plan for aggressively raising interest rates. This raises questions about whether it will temper inflation’s effects or cause too much growth and lead to a recession.

Concerns about inflation have been growing heavier with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushing energy and some key food commodity prices higher. China, the world’s second-largest economy, took a renewed hit from lockdowns in key cities because of COVID-19 cases, but a surprise interest rate cut from the Chinese government has at least temporarily eased some anxiety.

Markets made solid gains in Asia and Europe.

Wall Street is currently analyzing earnings from retailers. Investors are trying to gauge the impact inflation is having on company operations, and whether consumers are putting more pressure on their spending by focusing on this sector.

Retail giants Target, Walmart and others warned this week that inflation could be a problem for their finances. Discount retailer Ross Stores plunged 22.2% on Friday after cutting its profit forecast and citing rising inflation as a factor.

Several retailers were rewarded with encouraging results. Ugg footwear maker Deckers Outdoor rose 13.1% and Foot Locker rose 1.7% after beating analysts’ earnings forecasts.

Investors continue watching the Fed for hints of more interest rate hikes to cool inflation that is running at a four-decade high. Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, said this week that the U.S. central banking might take more aggressive measures if price pressures continue to rise.