NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Economic reports showing a slightly weaker housing market and almost no inflation combined with an analyst price cut of Intel to dampen investor sentiment early Friday.

Early indications point to a flat to lower open for the major markets, which showed little apparent reaction to government data released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation on the retail level, rose 0.1 percent in July, below expectations for a 0.2 percent rise. Excluding food and energy prices, the CPI rose 0.2 percent, matching forecasts.

July housing starts slipped 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.649 million units, the government said. Analysts expected a 1.68 million rate for housing starts, one of the few areas of strength amid a slackening economy.

The latest data come three days after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates at 40-year lows and signaled it stands ready to push borrowing costs lower if the economy weakens.

The most closely watched report may be the initial August reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, released soon after the markets open. The index is expected to edge up to 89 from July's 88.1 reading, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. July was a sharp downturn from the prior months and signaled that the economic recovery may have stalled.

"The recent rally in the stock market might be captured (in the numbers)," Anthony Crescenzi, bond strategist at Miller, Tabak & Co, told CNNmoney Morning, referring to a market rally that has pushed the Dow industrials up 15 percent since July 23.

For details about Thursday's activity, click above

Shares of Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) slipped 32 cents to $18.29. Morgan Stanley cut its price target on the world's largest semiconductor company to $27 from $38, and shaved its earnings per share forecast.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished Thursday's choppy session with a nearly 75-point advance, following through on the prior session's surge of more than 260 points. The Nasdaq composite index was up more than 10 points (see chart for Friday's activity).

The Dow is up 0.8 percent on the week while the Nasdaq is 3 percent higher.

Friday brings the expiration of options on stocks and stock indexes. The so called "double witching" can bring volatile trading.

Asian-Pacific stocks finished mixed Friday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.1 percent. European markets were little changed in early trading.

Shares of Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) rose 21 cents to $27.35 before hours Friday. The PC maker met fiscal second-quarter earnings expectations late Thursday and said shipments of new computers are increasing. Merrill Lynch increased its revenue estimates for Dell's current quarter to $8.90 billion from $8.77 billion.

Treasury prices rose in early trading, pushing the 10-year note yield down to 4.15 percent from at 4.18 percent Thursday. The dollar was flat against the yen and euro.

Brent oil futures slipped 8 cents to $26.77 a barrel in London, where gold was lower in early trading.

Shares of nVidia (NVDA: Research, Estimates), a chipmaker, slumped 53 cents to $9.76. Merrill reduced its fiscal year earnings estimate to 64 cents per share and the company's fiscal year 2004 earnings estimate to 76 cents claiming that the tech company faces some challenges, including strong competition, in the near term.

Merrill also reduced estimates for drug developer MedImmune (MEDI: Research, Estimates), bringing expectations for the third quarter to a loss of 15 cents per share from a loss of 12 cents per share and its 2002 estimate to a profit of 36 cents per share from 39 cents. MedImmune Thursday cut its earnings estimate for 2002 by 3 cents a share to reflect the cost of an acquisition. Shares of MedImmune fell $1.50 to $27.68 early Friday.