US: Stocks mostly rise as tech shares jump

[WASHINGTON] Wall Street stocks regained some ground on Wednesday helped by a rise in tech shares, as easing inflation assuaged some investor jitters about the world’s biggest economy even as tariff worries lingered.

The broad-based S&P 500 Index gained 0.5 per cent to 5,599.30 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.2 per cent to 17,648.45.

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 per cent to 41,350.93.

The shifts came after the consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, came in cooler than expected for February, the first full month that President Donald Trump was in office.

CPI was up 2.8 per cent from a year ago, a touch lower than the 3.0 per cent increase in January, according to Labor Department data.

Excluding the volatile food and energy segments, “core” CPI was up 3.1 per cent, also easing from before.

But Karl Haeling of LBBW cautioned that the market rebound might have more to do with its “technical condition.”

“Tech stocks got hit the most, so they’re the ones that are bouncing the most,” he said.

US markets slumped early this week on fears that Trump’s tariff policies might nudge the country’s economy into a downturn.

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But tech stocks picked up on Wednesday with Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla logging notable gains.

As for the health of the US economy, subsequent data reports will likely be more meaningful when it comes to reflecting the effects of tariffs, Haeling added.

On Wednesday, Trump’s sweeping levies on steel and aluminum imports kicked in, marking the latest salvo in his broadening series of duties. AFP