US stocks edge lower as investors weigh batch of mixed economic data

• US stocks moved lower Friday as investors juggled a raft of economic reports.
• The Fed's preferred inflation gauge came in higher than anticipated, rising at a 4.7% year-over-year rate in November.

US stocks logged modest losses Friday as investors sorted through a raft of economic reports to round off what's likely to be another losing week for the S&P 500.

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge was slightly hotter than anticipated for November after months of rate hikes by the central bank to tame prices. The core personal consumption expenditures price index rose 4.7% year over year, higher than the 4.6% projection from a Bloomberg survey of economists. But the core PCE did cool from 5% in October.

Meanwhile, Americans' personal income last month rose by 0.4% while spending showed some softness by edging up 0.1%.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were in a position to log a third straight week of losses.

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

• S&P 500: 3,820.19, down 0.06%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,994.18, down 0.10% (33.31 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 10,451.27, down 0.24%

"It remains unclear when inflation will subside to a level at which the Fed can pause rate hikes (and the Fed doesn't know either), so inflation and related monetary policy response will remain a lingering issue next year as well," Bill Merz, head of capital markets research at US Bank Wealth Management, wrote in a note.

Wall Street consensus estimates for 2023 S&P 500 earnings call for around 14% earnings growth next year, a rate that "must come down" largely because of ongoing macroeconomic headwinds, Merz said.

Here's what else is happening today:

• Sam Bankman-Fried is facing off against FTX's new execs in a four-way battle for $450 million of Robinhood shares.
• Russia may cut oil output by 7% to hit back at the price cap imposed by the EU.
• Elon Musk said he sold Tesla stock to free up cash in case a "worst-case scenario" strikes.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude advanced by 2.4% to $79.37 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, edged gained 2.2% to $82.74.
• Gold rose 0.6% to $1,805.40 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 3.70%.
• Bitcoin picked up 0.4% to $16,861.04.