NEW YORK, March 12 — Wall Street’s main stock indexes struggled for direction today, as traders held on to bets of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the coming months, even as consumer prices data came in hotter than expected.

A Labour Department report showed US consumer prices increased in February amid higher gasoline and shelter costs, suggesting some stickiness in inflation that could delay an anticipated June interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4 per cent last month after climbing 0.3 per cent in January. Excluding volatile food and energy components, consumer prices increased 0.4 per cent in February after rising by the same margin in January.

"The disinflationary trend is petering out, but inflation is not resurging,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.

"This print is just about enough to keep rate-cut expectations for June stable — but another print like this next month would push the first cut into the second half of the year, putting the soft landing narrative in question.”

Traders are now seeing a 70 per cent chance of the first rate cut coming in June, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, from 71 per cent ahead of the inflation report.

Last month’s stock market rally was slowed after data showed signs of a robust economy and sticky inflation, as traders pushed back expectations on the timing of the Fed’s first rate cut to June from March.

At 9.54am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3.64 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 38,773.30, the S&P 500 was up 8.10 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 5,126.04, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 24.31 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 16,043.59.

Utilities led losses across major S&P 500 sectors, down 0.4 per cent, while a 0.5 per cent rise in rate-sensitive technology stocks helped crimp losses.

Oracle jumped 10.7 per cent on signs the firm was making progress in its plan to grab a share of the cloud-computing market, thanks to its tie-up with AI chip giant Nvidia.

Boeing shed 4.1 per cent after a report said an audit by the Federal Aviation Administration found dozens of problems with the 737 MAX’s production.

Southwest Airlines dipped 12.9 per cent after saying it expects 42 per cent less MAX deliveries this year from Boeing than previously estimated, which will likely result in a cut in its 2024 capacity.

3M jumped 5.8 per cent after the industrial conglomerate said that William Brown would be appointed its chief executive officer, effective May 1.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.43-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.59-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded eight new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 22 new highs and 57 new lows. — Reuters