• US stocks fell on Friday, putting the brakes on a strong rally on Thursday following strong economic data.
• The S&P 500 is on track to end its six-day winning streak.
• Investors are eagerly awaiting the latest consumer sentiment data on Friday morning.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday following Thursday’s big rally as traders took a breather after the latest data sparked a glimmer of optimism about the state of the economy.

Stocks rose in the previous session after retail sales beat expectations and unemployment figures came in lower than the previous week. The data, along with falling consumer and producer inflation readings earlier in the week, gave markets renewed confidence in the likelihood of a soft landing.

On Friday, investors will be tuned to the latest consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan, due out at 10 a.m. ET. Markets are also digesting a decline in housing starts, which fell 6.8% last month to the lowest level since the pandemic.

A decline in the supply of new homes coming onto the market will likely put further upward pressure on already high home prices. Housing costs were the biggest driver of the latest consumer price index.

“A slowdown in single-family home construction will constrain supply for a market already struggling with low inventory. Home prices are likely to remain elevated despite a general economic slowdown,” Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, said Friday. “However, we expect mortgage rates to decline later this year as the Fed begins cutting rates.”

While investors will not get an update on Fed policy this month, markets will be closely watching next week’s economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak next Friday.

Here you can see the situation of the US indices shortly after trading began at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday:

Here’s what else happens:

For commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies:

• Oil futures fell. The price of WTI crude oil fell by 2.2 percent to $76.41 per barrel. The international reference price for Brent crude oil fell by 2 percent to $79.41 per barrel.
• Gold rose 1.4 percent to $2,579 an ounce.
• The yield on 10-year government bonds fell three basis points to 3.89%.
• The Bitcoin price was roughly unchanged at USD 58,735.