Stocks Opened Lower; PPI Flat in August

U .S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, as data showed that wholesale prices in the U.S. were little changed in August from the prior month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 19.52 points, or 0.11%, to 17,011.62. The S&P 500 was down 0.44 point, or 0.02%, to 1,983.69. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.67 points, or 0.04%, to 4,517.23.

U.S. producer prices were flat in August, pointing to muted inflation pressures that should see the Federal Reserve in no hurry to raise interest rates. The Labor Department said on Tuesday its producer price index for final demand was unchanged as gasoline and food costs fell. Producer prices had edged up 0.1 percent in July.

Nations should do a better job coordinating efforts to prevent corporations from manipulating the international tax system, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report on Tuesday.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension fund, said on Monday that it will pull all $4 billion it has invested in hedge funds because it finds them too costly and complicated.

Humana Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a $2 billion share-repurchase program to replace its current buyback. The new plan is slated to run through the end of 2016. About $782 million was remaining under the company’s prior authorization after making $118 million in buybacks so far during the third quarter.

China’s foreign direct investment fell in August to its lowest level in more than four years. China attracted $7.2 billion of foreign direct investment in August, the commerce ministry said, down 14% from a year earlier, its lowest level since July 2010.

he German economic outlook weakened in September, a survey of financial analysts released Tuesday showed. The lead indicator of the ZEW survey declined to 6.9 in September from August’s 8.6. Economists polled ahead of the release by The Wall Street Journal had forecast the indicator to fall to 5.0.