Stocks open mixed after consumer price report, JPMorgan bank earnings

Stocks mixed after CPI, JPMorgan earnings

Stocks are mixed after a government report showed inflation was tamer than expected last month.

The Labor Department said Friday the consumer price index rose a modest 0.1 percent, bringing inflation for all of 2009 to a mild 2.7 percent.

The market earlier showed little reaction to news that fourth-quarter profits at banker JPMorgan Chase & Co. beat Wall Street forecasts. But its revenue was weaker than expected.

Intel, the biggest computer chip maker, surprised investors late Thursday by reporting one of the most profitable quarters in its history.

In the early moments of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 24.04, or 0.2 percent, at 10,686.51. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down 1.65, or 0.1 percent, at 1,146.81.

But the Nasdaq composite index is up 5.79, or 0.3 percent, at 2,322.53.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Stock futures remained lower Friday after a government report that inflation was tamer than expected last month.

The Labor Department said the consumer price index rose a modest 0.1 percent, bringing inflation for all of 2009 to a mild 2.7 percent.

The market showed little reaction to news that fourth-quarter profits at banker JPMorgan Chase & Co. beat Wall Street forecasts. In other earnings news, Intel, the biggest computer chip maker, surprised investors late Thursday by reporting one of the most profitable quarters in its history.

U.S. investors may have already factored good earnings reports into stock prices.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 29, or 0.3 percent, to 10,634. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 4.20, or 0.4 percent, to 1,141.00, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 4, or 0.2 percent, at 1,884.25.

Investors are getting used to seeing mixed data on the economy, and hoped upcoming corporate earnings reports would turn around following a weak showing by aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. on Monday.

Meanwhile, bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.69 percent from 3.74 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.06 percent from 0.04 percent.

The dollar mostly rose against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.7 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down less than 0.1 percent, Germany’s DAX index was down 0.9 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was down 0.4 percent.