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The NASDAQ Composite rose on Wednesday after a soft inflation report eased concerns about the economy and as investors snapped up beaten-up technology shares.
The Dow Jones Industrials sagged 82.55 points to 41,350.93
The S&P 500 resurfaced 27.23 points to 5,599.30.
The NASDAQ jumped 212.36 points, or 1.2%, to 17,648.45
Though the tech sector is off about 3% week to date, the cohort bounced on Wednesday to lead the S&P 500 higher. Nvidia gained 6%, and AMD added 5%. Meta Platforms advanced 3%, and Tesla jumped 8%.
This week alone, the Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ have all dropped more than 3%. The S&P 500 briefly dipped into correction territory on Tuesday, down 10% from a record set in February. Over the past month, the S&P 500 has lost nearly 8%, while the Dow dumped 6.6% and the NASDAQ has shed 11.3%.
The consumer price index, a broad measure of costs across the U.S. economy, increased 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.8%. This was lower than the respective Dow Jones estimates for 0.3% and 2.9%. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% on the month and 3.1% for the past 12 months, both below expectations.
Part of the reason for the recent selloff has been concern that President Donald Trump’s volatile trade policy would raise inflation and slow growth, otherwise known as stagflation. The CPI report eased those concerns. The report also would leave room for the Federal Reserve to cut rates again later this year if the economy needed it.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 4.32% from Tuesday’s 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on $1.45 to $67.70 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold leaped $20.90 an ounce to $2,942.40 U.S.
