NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange closed mixed Wednesday after a highly anticipated report showed inflation rose across the United States last month, but not much more than expected. .
The S&P 500 rose 5.54 points, or 0.1%, to finish at 4,467.44, after swinging between small gains and losses several times throughout the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 70.46 points, or 0.2%, to 34,575.53, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 39.97 points, or 0.3%, to 13,813.59.
The modest moves came after an immediate choppy reaction to the inflation report across financial markets, where bond yields and stock prices swung several times. According to the report, American consumers last month paid prices 3.7% higher than a year earlier, compared to the inflation rate of 3.2% in July.
That’s discouraging for consumers paying higher prices, but much of the acceleration was due to higher fuel costs, which can swing very sharply and quickly. Regardless of these factors, underlying inflation trends still point to continued moderation, economists say. Inflation has generally been cooling since peaking above 9% last year.
The inflation report was long-awaited because it will help guide the Federal Reserve’s next actions on interest rates. The Fed has already raised its main interest rate to the highest level in more than two decades, hurting stock prices and other investments, and there is hope on Wall Street that inflation has cooled enough to stabilize. to an acceptable level.
Although economists are willing to ignore fuel costs when analyzing inflation to find underlying trends, households and businesses do not have that luxury.
Airline stocks were some of the biggest losers in the S&P 500 after a couple warned of a hit to their profits due to rising prices.
American Airlines cut its summer profit forecast because fuel prices are higher than expected. It also had to pay about $230 million in back pay to pilots after they ratified a new labor contract. Its shares fell 5.7%.
Other airlines also fell, with drops of 3.8% for United Airlines and 2.8% for Delta Air Lines.
On the winning end of Wall Street were high-growth stocks, which could be the big beneficiaries if the Federal Reserve definitively concludes its interest rate hikes. High rates affect all types of investments, but they tend to hurt technology companies and others that promise high long-term growth the most.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell from 4.27% to 4.26%. It had risen to 4.34% immediately after the inflation report.
Associated Press writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
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2023-09-13 22:31:36
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