NEW YORK, March 13 — Wall Street stocks rose early today after benign US inflation data eased concerns about higher Federal Reserve interest rates.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 25,363.38, up 0.7 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to 2,800.59, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 7,629.76.

The Consumer Price Index, which tracks the costs of household goods and services, rose 0.2 per cent for the month, which matched analyst expectations but was down from January’s sharp 0.5 per cent gain.

Analysts said the data mean the Fed is likely to stick with its current plan of gradual interest rate hikes, rather than shifting to a more aggressive pace to ward off inflation.

Markets took in stride news that US President Donald Trump replaced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA chief Mike Pompeo.

Among individual stocks, Qualcomm slumped 3.1 per cent after the Trump administration blocked Singapore-based Broadcom’s unsolicited bid for the company on national security grounds.

Dow member General Electric sank 4.6 per cent after a JPMorgan Chase note lowered the price target on the industrial conglomerate.

Retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods dropped 6.5 per cent as it projected same store sales flat to a low "single-digit decline” for the current fiscal year. — AFP