NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks declined early Friday following mixed economic data, extending a dismal December trend amid worries of a 2023 recession.

Orders for big-ticket US manufactured goods dropped more than expected in November due to a slump in new orders for aircraft.

Meanwhile, the personal consumption expenditures price index, watched closely by the Federal Reserve as a gauge of inflation, increased 0.1 percent from October to November and 5.5 percent from November last year.

The annual figure was below October’s level but still significantly higher than Fed policymakers’ target of two percent inflation.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5 percent at 32,867.55.

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The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.5 percent to 3,894.23, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.9 percent to 10,385.17.

The S&P 500 is down about 6.5 percent for the month thus far as traders mull over predictions for a recession next year, due to the mix of still-bad inflation and central bank efforts to address it.

The Fed walks a tightrope trying to cool demand and bring down consumer prices while avoiding tipping the economy into a recession.

Market watchers were expecting low volumes Friday, with many absences ahead of the Christmas holiday this weekend. Markets will be closed on Monday.