US stocks fall after wholesale inflation reading shows prices are still rising

• US stocks dropped on Friday after November's PPI data showed wholesale prices rising more than expected.
• Prices paid by producers rose 0.3% last month from the prior month, higher than estimates of 0.2%.

US stocks fell on Friday, erasing gains made in pre-market trading after November's Producer Price Index report showed wholesale prices still rising, a discouraging signal ahead of next week's key Federal Reserve meeting.

Wholesale prices were up 0.3% in November from the prior month, exceeding expectations of 0.2%. The data arrives as traders are girding for a slew of economic announcements next week, namely the November consumer inflation report and the next policy decision by the Fed.

Fed fund futures have been steadily holding 75% odds of a 50-basis-point increase in interest rates next week, even after Friday morning's dispiriting PPI figure. The worry though has become that the Fed will need to keep rates elevated for longer than markets had previously been expecting, with many commentators now saying they expect rates to hover close to 5% for much of 2023.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:

• S&P 500: 3,951.93, down 0.29%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,704.20, down 0.23% (77.28 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 11,023.32, down 0.53%

Here's what else is going on today:

• JPMorgan Asset Management is bucking some of the doom and gloom of other Wall Street firms, and says it expects stocks and bonds to both have a stronger year in 2023.
• Lunch will legendary hedge fund investor Bill Ackman is up for auction, with bids so far at $41,000. That's a steal compared to lunch with Warren Buffett, which went for $19 million in June.
• China says it wants to buy more oil from Saudi Arabia. Such an arrangement could drive "de-dollarization" if Saudi Arabia starts accepting payment in yuan, an analyst says.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• Oil prices edged higher. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.2% to $71.62 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark, rose 0.4% to $76.46 a barrel.
• Gold prices inched up 0.2% to $1,807 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points to 3.52%.
• Bitcoin was up 1.5%, trading at $17,119.