Stock market today: Wall Street clings to thin gains as rollercoaster week comes to a close

abcnews.go.com:

Trading on Wall Street was mixed early as markets try to hold on to the thin gains made so far in what’s been an up-and-down week

Trading on Wall Street was mixed early Friday as markets try to hold on to the thin gains made so far in what's been an up-and-down week.

Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.1% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.1%.

Although earnings season is winding down, there are still more sales and profit reports coming in, along with an assortment of economic reports that have been moving markets.

A mixed set of data on the economy included a report Thursday showing sales at U.S. retailers weakened by more in January from December than expected. It was a striking drop in spending by U.S. households, whose strength has helped keep the economy out of a recession, even with high interest rates. The upside for financial markets is that it could also remove some upward pressure on inflation.

A separate report said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected, the latest signal of a solid job market despite high-profile announcements of layoffs.

Altogether, the economic reports helped send Treasury yields lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.24% from 4.27% late Wednesday.

Treasury yields have been swiveling. Stronger-than-expected reports on inflation, the job market and the overall economy have forced traders on Wall Street to delay their forecasts for when the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates.

The Fed has already hiked its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001. The hope is that high rates will squeeze the economy just enough to get inflation down to a comfortable level