The stock market capped a quiet week of trading on a down note.
Major indexes fell from the start on Friday as oil drillers and other energy-related companies followed oil prices lower. Stocks spent much of the rest of the day drifting between losses and gains as investors considered a mixed bag of corporate earnings and a slight increase in inflation.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed down 4.76 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,126.06. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 53.72 points, or 0.29 percent, to 18,232.02. The Nasdaq composite edged down 1.43 points to 5,089.36.
Trading was light before the Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. Just 2.5 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, three-quarters of the normal level.
Nine of the 10 industry sectors of the S&P 500 were lower, led by a 0.8 percent drop in telecommunications stocks.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported that inflation rose 0.1 percent in April, its third straight increase. The report also noted that core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, climbed 0.3 percent, the biggest one-month increase in more than two years.
The numbers suggest that an improving economy could be setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark short-term interest rate. The central market has held the rate near zero for more than six years.
“We don’t think inflation is really a problem, but the uptick is a cover for the Fed to do what it wants to do anyway: Get off zero rates,” said Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech that she expected the Fed to begin raising rates this year if the job market improves. But she cautioned that the economy is still facing challenges, including disappointing wage growth and too many people working part time.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1 to close at $59.72 a barrel in New York as traders worried about supplies of oil outstripping demand. U.S. oil finished the week between $59 and $60 for the fourth straight week. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.17 to close at $65.37 a barrel in London.
