Russell 2000 falls

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is in negative territory on news of somewhat bearish economic reports and poor earnings from major corporations.

At 10:18 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 4.73 points, or 0.60%, to 777.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had lost 4.80 points, or 0.04%, to 13,226.21.

Consumer prices added 0.3% in October, according to the U.S. Labor Department before the start of trading. The result was expected by economists and mirrors September’s price increase.

Core prices, which exclude the volatile costs of food and energy, added 0.2%, the same rise as in September.

The numbers tell us that inflation remains broadly in check, despite the recent spike in the price of oil and higher energy costs.

However, consumer prices have added 3.5% on a year-over-year basis, while core prices have increased 2.2%. The U.S. Federal Reserve has said that it prefers core prices to stay in the range between 1% and 2%.

In other economic news, the labor market unexpectedly softened for the week ended Nov. 10.

In a separate report the Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims climbed 20,000 to 339,000, the highest level since April. Economists were expecting a much smaller rise of 3,000 from an upwardly revised level of 319,000 the previous week.

Elsewhere, shares of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) are trading in the red following news that the department store narrowed its third-quarter income and lowered its fourth-quarter outlook.

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