NEW YORK, Sept 30 — Wall Street stocks were little changed early today in the final session of another brutal week defined by worries over inflation and a potential recession.

A closely-watched measure of US inflation released Friday showed the annual pace of price increases slowed slightly in August compared with the prior month.

However, price increases still exceeded analyst expectations, a dynamic that will likely keep the Federal Reserve on its current path to hike interest rates.

Stocks have fallen much of the week, with a controversial tax cut package by Britain's new Prime Minister Liz Truss exacerbating volatility in financial markets.

Analysts also cited Friday's move by Russia to annex four Moscow-occupied Ukrainian regions as another headwind for markets.

About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 per cent at 29,160.01.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 3,636.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.1 percent to 10,744.94.

Among individual companies, Nike plummeted 11.6 per cent after reporting lower profits as the company marks down less-desired merchandise in North America amid an inventory glut and shifting consumer market challenged by inflation. — AFP