Wall Street Drifts As Yields Ease On Cooler Economic Data

US stocks are drifting Thursday following mixed profit reports from big companies and signals that the economy may be cooling, Stan Choe reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in early trading and has been generally pulling back since setting a record last week.

The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in early trading and has been generally pulling back since setting a record last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 300 points, or 0.8%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% lower.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in much of Europe after struggling in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.6%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 1.3%, Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach also reported for AP.