US: Stocks end higher amid signs of slowing inflation

WALL Street closed higher on Tuesday as investors were upbeat about further signs US inflation is slowing and amid good earnings reports, but retreated from the day’s high after reports of a missile strike in Poland.

Nato and the Pentagon said they were looking into unconfirmed reports that two Russian missiles had landed inside Nato-member Poland. The news sent stocks lower but major indices recovered ground by the closing bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.2 per cent to finish the session at 33,592.92.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.9 per cent to 3,991.73, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.5 per cent to close at 11,358.41.

Equities moved decidedly higher early in the day, rebounding from Monday’s losses after Walmart’s quarterly earnings beat expectations, as did Home Depot’s, while new data showed further signs inflation is slowing.

The US producer price index slowed in October, and the annual PPI eased to 8.0 per cent, adding to rising hopes the Federal Reserve can slow the aggressive pace of interest rate hikes after six increases this year, including four super-sized moves.

Walmart’s earnings, though weighed down by a huge payout to settle opioid lawsuits, reflected a resilient US consumer.

The big box retailer saw its shares jump 6.5 per cent, while Home Depot gained 1.6 per cent, and Target, which reports earnings Wednesday, increased nearly 4.0 per cent. Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital said the pattern on Wall Street of a strong start that loses momentum towards the end of the day “certainly could be news from Poland,” but also could reflect some caution among institutional investors.

“We really had a trifecta of information between retail and PPI and the China reopening story, and you would think that would be a recipe for a bull market, but institutional investors don’t agree,” he told AFP.

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US: Wall Street opens higher as data points to cooling inflation

Markets will be watching on Wednesday for new data on retail sales and industrial output for signals on the strength of the US economy, while monitoring speeches from Fed officials for information on their thinking. AFP