TESLA STOCK DROPS CLOSER TO PRE-MUSK TWEET LEVEL

After two days of turmoil, Tesla shares have fallen back closer to the level they were trading at before CEO Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday that he may take the company private.

Shares closed down 5 percent on Thursday.

That means they now have given back almost all the gains following Musk’s Tuesday morning tweet that he had confirmed funding for taking the company private at $420 a share.

Before the tweet, shares closed Monday at $341.99. After two days of turmoil, they stood at $352.45.

The retreat from earlier highs suggests the market now doubts the buyout will happen.

U.S. producer prices flat in July, restraining inflation.

WASHINGTON» U.S. wholesale prices were unchanged in July after two months of large increases, a sign that inflation pressures may have softened.

The Labor Department said Thursday the producer price index — which measures price changes before they reach the consumer — increased 3.3 percent last month from a year earlier. That’s down slightly from 3.4 percent in June, which was the biggest in six years.

Gas prices and other energy costs fell after two months of strong gains, and food costs also declined. The price of soybeans and other oilseeds fell 14 percent, the most in four years, likely reflecting a buildup in soybean stocks after China imposed tariffs on them in retaliation for U.S. duties.

With the economy growing at a healthy clip, inflation has perked up after nearly a decade of mostly tame prices. Higher gas prices have been the main catalyst, but they have leveled off in recent weeks.

Swedish Ikea opens first single-brand retail store in India.

HYDERABAD,

INDIA» Band music and loud cheers greeted hundreds of customers as Swedish home furnishings giant Ikea opened its first store in India on Thursday, five years after it received approval to invest in the country’s singlebrand retail sector.

The store in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, India’s information technology hub, is spread over a sprawling 13 acres.

The company’s vast array of goods available at one place gives it an advantage in India.

The Indian furniture market is mostly unorganized and composed of small and medium-sized businesses.