Stock futures were lower after the second hot inflation report this week raised doubts about the path of interest rates. S&P futures fell 0.2% while Nasdaq-100 were flat. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 140 points, or 0.4%. The producer price index for January, a measure of wholesale inflation, came in with a 0.3% increase. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a gain of 0.1%. Excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.5%, against expectations for a 0.1% gain. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped above 4.3% following the hot PPI. The 2-year Treasury yield jumped above 4.7%, the highest since December. Investors have spent the week assessing the direction of the U.S. economy and when the Federal Reserve may decide to lower rates, particularly after this week’s hotter-than-expected consumer price index data. Friday’s wholesale inflation report adds to concern the Fed may have to wait until later in the year before it starts cutting rates. “It is not all bad news,” Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, said about the yield levels. “Market expectations and Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy projections have become closer aligned, alleviating a source of market volatility. Furthermore, better-than-expected economic data has been a driving force of the market’s repricing of rate cuts, reducing the likelihood of a hard-landing scenario.” The S&P 500 closed at a fresh record high Thursday. The Dow and Nasdaq also posted gains in the previous session. For the week, the broad market index is up by less than 0.1%. The Dow, meanwhile, is 0.3% higher for the week after raking in its biggest one-day loss since March 2023 on Tuesday. The Nasdaq, however, is lower by 0.53%. In corporate news, shares of food delivery service DoorDash dropped 7% on a wider-than-expected loss, while digital advertising company Trade Desk popped about 18% after topping analysts’ fourth-quarter revenue estimates and offering an upbeat outlook for the first quarter. Shares of semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials also jumped 32% on positive earnings results. U.S. Treasury yields climbed on Friday after January wholesaler prices came in higher than expected. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was over 8 basis points higher to 4.322%, above the closely watched 4.3% level. The 2-year Treasury yield was last trading at 4.703% after rising by more than 13 basis points. At one point, the yield reached 4.718%, its highest level since Dec. 13. Hong Kong markets led gains in Asia on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 hitting a fresh 34-year high as it attempted to scale its all-time peak. At its intraday high of 38,863.69, Nikkei was less than 100 points from scaling its record high. The index gave up its earlier gains to end 0.86% higher at 38,487.24, a day after the country lost its spot as the third-largest global economy to Germany and reported a technical recession. Other Asia-Pacific markets rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains, with the S&P 500 notching a fresh record high. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2.41%, while mainland Chinese markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.69% to close at 7,658.3, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.27% to end at 2,624.73. Oil slipped on Friday as a forecast of slowing demand by the International Energy Agency offset support from geopolitical tensions and hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve might cut interest rates sooner than expected. Weighing on sentiment, the IEA said on Thursday that global oil demand growth was losing momentum and it trimmed its 2024 growth forecast, in contrast to the view held by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). “There was a tentative attempt to recover yesterday morning, but hopes were shattered after the IEA published its updated supply-demand outlook,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. Brent crude futures were down 53 cents, or 0.6%, at $82.33 a barrel at 0915 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 33 cents to $77.70. Gold held steady on Friday but was on track for a second consecutive weekly fall as traders lowered expectations of rapid U.S. rate cuts, while markets sought more data for further clarity on the Federal Reserve’s next move. Spot gold was last up 0.10% to $2,005.39 per ounce, and has lost nearly 1% for the week so far. U.S. gold futures were down 0.36% at $2,007.70 per ounce.