The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 24 points in morning trading after a preliminary reading from the University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment survey showed consumer confidence improved slightly more than expected this month.

In corporate news, Intel Corp. shares were among the few gainers, rising more than 2 percent, after the chipmaker said it will raise its dividend 15 percent.

Walt Disney Co. shares jumped 5 percent. The gain came a day after shares dropped after its quarterly results, which showed an unexpected drop in earnings, were leaked early.

Gains in the pair of Dow components helped steady the index.

The Dow fell 23.80, or 0.2 percent, to 11,259.41 in morning trading. It was down as many as 69 points earlier.

The Standard and amp; Poor’s 500 index fell 4.71, or 0.4 percent, to 1,208.83, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 7.83, or 0.3 percent, to 2,547.69.

Energy and materials stocks retreated as the prices of oil, gold and other commodities fell sharply. Oil companies like Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. fell about 1 percent. Freeport-McMoRan Copper and amp; Gold Inc. fell about 2 percent.

The losses in the US follow steep drops overnight in major Chinese indexes as traders fear China might be forced to raise interest rates to combat mounting inflation. The Chinese government said Thursday that the pace of inflation hit a more than two-year high in October.

The Shanghai composite index plummeted 5.2 percent Friday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 1.9 percent.

Cooling China’s economy could have an impact worldwide because the country’s robust economy has helped offset sluggish growth in places like the US Many companies have credited international sales, particularly in China, as a reason earnings have been strong.

The speculation about a rate hike in China came as little headway was made on a plan to strengthen global growth.