US wholesale prices rose 0.2% in August, bringing the year-on-year rate to 1.7%, down from a revised 2.1% last month.
However, when the volatile food and energy components were excluded, wholesale prices rose 0.3%, exceeding forecasts.
The dynamics were similar to the September 11 CPI report, which analysts said kept the Fed on track to cut rates next week.
About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent to 40,706.53 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 5,545.77, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose less than 0.1 percent to 17,402.78.
The ECB cut its key deposit rate by a quarter-point to 3.5 percent as expected, providing further relief for euro zone households and businesses.
Among individual companies, Moderna fell 18.3% after announcing it would cut its annual research and development spending by $1.1 billion from 2027. | BGNES
