U.S. stocks ticked up Wednesday with fairly positive inflation data that could influence the pace of market-boosting interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, according to the Associated Press. Futures for both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% higher.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,842.91 as three out of every four stocks in the index climbed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to 42,518.28, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2% to 19,044.39. Stocks got a boost from a report showing inflation at the U.S. wholesale level wasn’t as high last month as economists expected.
Indexes drifted between gains and losses through the day in large part because of drops for several Big Tech stocks. Nvidia fell 1.1% and was the second-heaviest weight on the S&P 500. The only stock to drag more on the market was Eli Lilly, which fell 6.6% after saying it expects to report weaker revenue for the last three months of 2024 than previously forecast.
In other dealings on Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 29 cents to $76.66 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 42 cents to $80.34 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 157.08 Japanese yen from 158.00 yen.
