US: Dow, S&P 500 end at records after inflation report

[NEW YORK] Major US stock indices ended at records for the second session in a row on Wednesday after a closely-watched US report showed inflation moderating in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.6 per cent to 35,484.97 for its second straight record.

The broad-based S&P 500 also ended at a fresh record, up 0.3 per cent at 4,447.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.2 per cent to 14,765.14.

The inflation report showed consumer prices rising significantly for energy and food in July. But when those volatile items were left out of the calculation, the core CPI rose just 0.3 per cent, seasonally adjusted, just a third of the rate in June.

The moderation in price growth "feeds into the 'peak inflation' narrative," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, while adding that the report suggested inflation could still linger at high levels.

Art Hogan, chief strategist at National Securities, described the report as "a mild positive," adding that he expects stocks to trade in a flat to slightly higher trend in the coming sessions when there are fewer major economic reports scheduled.

"It's going to be the dog days of summer," Mr Hogan said.

Among individual companies, Southwest Airlines advanced 1.5 per cent as investors shrugged off a recent slowdown in bookings and uptick in cancellations, likely due to the latest rise in Covid-19 infections.

AFP