Stocks end lower as investors digest economic data

STORY: Wall Street ended lower on Friday as investors assessed more data on inflation and awaited a 50 basis-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week.

The Dow shed nine-tenths of a percent, while the S&P and Nasdaq each lost nearly three-quarters of a percent.

U.S. producer prices rose slightly more than expected in November amid a jump in the costs of services, but the trend is moderating – with annual inflation posting its smallest increase in 1-1/2 years.

Paul Kim is CEO and co-founder of Simplify ETFs.

"I think at this point, inflation is not some scary outlier. We have a fairly good grasp of the fact that it's hot. It's been running hot. It's still likely to run hot for a while, but that some of the biggest drivers that made it run hot is starting to slow down and cool down. So I think the sort of fear factor is gone and you see that and the levels of volatility coming in and just activity and volumes in the market coming down."

Consumer prices data for November, due Tuesday, will provide fresh clues on the central bank's monetary tightening plans, which it will announce at its policy meeting next week.

As for individual movers, Lululemon Athletica tumbled almost 13% after the Canadian athletic apparel maker forecast lower-than-expected holiday-quarter revenue and profit.

Netflix gained 3.1% after Wells Fargo upgraded the video streaming giant to "overweight" from "equal weight."

And Boeing climbed 0.3% after Reuters reported the plane maker plans to announce a deal with United Airlines for orders of the 787 Dreamliner next week.

Wall Street's main indexes have fallen this week after logging two straight weekly gains. Weighing heavily on investors are fears of a potential recession next year due to extended central bank rate hikes.