US: Stocks gain despite torrid inflation report

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks pushed higher early on Tuesday (Apr 12) despite another report of soaring US inflation that strengthens the chance for more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

The consumer price index jumped 8.5 in March compared with a year ago, with prices climbing 1.2 per cent over February's level.

The report was the first to fully encompass the shock caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the West's sanctions against Moscow, which have caused energy and food prices to spike worldwide.

The figures offer a grim picture for consumers, although investors appeared to be embracing a "peak inflation" narrative based on the idea that pricing pressures will soon ease. And in fact the data showed used car prices fell in the month.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9 per cent at 34,606.34.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.1 per cent to 4,459.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.5 per cent to 13,615.90.

The early gains were a reversal of broad losses on Monday when the White House had warned of "extraordinarily elevated" inflation for March.

Among individual companies, American Airlines dipped 0.5 per cent as the big carrier projected slightly better revenues for the first quarter, but also said fuel costs had risen more than expected. AFP