US: Stocks climb as market awaits consumer price data

WALL Street stocks rose on Wednesday as markets awaited key US inflation data expected to influence upcoming Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions.

Thursday’s consumer price index report for December is certain to show moderation compared with the mid-2022 peak of more than nine percent in year-over-year price hikes.

But just how much moderation it demonstrates will influence expectations for the Fed. Investors are currently somewhat less certain that the US central bank will start interest rate cuts as soon as March.

“We continue to think the Fed will start cutting rates later than consensus,” said CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall, who expects rate cuts in May rather than March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.5 per cent at 37,695.73.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.6 per cent to 4,783.45, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.8 per cent to 14,969.65.

SEE ALSO

US: S&P 500, Dow open flat ahead of inflation data, earnings

Several large tech companies bounced Wednesday including Microsoft, which jumped 1.9 per cent, Amazon, up 1.6 per cent and Facebook parent Meta, which gained 3.7 per cent.

Juniper Networks rose 2.1 per cent after announcing an agreement to be bought by Hewlett Packard Enterprise for about US$14 billion. HPE, which said the deal would bolster its networking capacities to customers, advanced 1.8 per cent.

Besides inflation data, investors are looking ahead to Friday’s kickoff of corporate earnings, which includes releases from JPMorgan Chase and other large banks, as well as Delta Air Lines. AFP