NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are little changed Friday morning as banks move higher and technology companies slip further. Stocks in the U.K. are slumping and the pound is rising after the Bank of England suggested it will start raising interest rates soon. The Federal Reserve said industrial production in the U.S. fell last month, mostly because of Hurricane Harvey.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 2,494 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 22 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,225 as Boeing continued its recent rally. The 30-company index closed at record highs the last three days. The Nasdaq composite fell 1 point to 6,428. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks was little changed at 1,424.
After a big gain Monday, stocks have been fairly quiet this week as investors turn their attention to next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The bank is not expected to raise interest rates this month, but Wall Street is wondering if it will do so in September. The Bank of England also remained a focal point this week.
ECONOMICS: Industrial production in the U.S. fell 0.9 percent in August, the biggest drop in eight years, as Harvey knocked numerous oil refining, plastics and chemicals factories out of business for a time. Many of those factories are based in the Gulf Coast region that Harvey hit. The Federal Reserve says the weather and flooding was responsible for almost all of the loss.
Separately, the Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.2 percent last month as car sales decreased. That was weaker than analysts expected, and Harvey may have also been a factor in the sales decrease.
CLOUDY FORECAST: Oracle’s first-quarter profit and sales were better than investors expected, but the software maker sank as analysts were concerned about forecasts for its cloud computing business. Oracle lost $3.06, or 5.8 percent, to $49.73. Other technology companies also took losses. Microsoft fell 58 cents to $74.19 and technology information and analysis company Gartner shed $1.14 to $121.10.
BONDS: Bond prices dipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.20 percent from 2.19 percent. Capital One rose $1.25, or 1.6 percent, to $79.95 and Bank of New York Mellon added 41 cents to $51.54.
CENTRAL BANKS: U.K. stocks fell for a second day and the pound rose again after as Bank of England officials confirmed they expect to start raising interest rates for the first time in a decade in coming months. That could happen as soon as November. Stocks are falling as the pound rises because many companies on the FTSE 100 are multinationals whose earnings abroad are decreased when translated back into pounds.
The pound surged to $1.3598 from $1.3398, its highest since mid-2016. The FTSE 100 fell 1.2 percent after a 1.1-percent loss Thursday. The index is at a four-month low.
U.K. stocks did not appear to be affected by a bomb attack on a London subway train. Police said an improvised explosive device hurt 22 people mostly with burns. None of those injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
OVERSEAS: Germany’s DAX lost 0.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 sagged 0.4 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.5 percent. South Korea’s Kospi recouped initial losses to end 0.4 percent higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.1 percent.
ENERGY: Oil prices were little changed. Benchmark U.S. crude added 4 cents to $49.93, its highest since late July. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 31 cents to $55.78 barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar advanced to 110.75 yen from 110.54 yen. The euro jumped to $1.1975 from $1.1914.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jays