NEW YORK, Aug 7 —Wall Street climbed higher today following a choppy week, with investors looking ahead to a highly awaited US inflation report due later in the week that could test the market’s sharp recovery this year.

The main stock indexes ended the week lower on Friday with some investors taking profits after months of gains due to worries over economic data, mixed earnings and rising Treasury yields.

US stocks have sharply rallied in 2023, with the benchmark S&P 500 clocking 17 per cent gains year to date, fueled by optimism around artificial intelligence and hopes of a soft landing for the world’s largest economy.

The US consumer price data on Thursday could offer cues to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path, after an employment report on Friday re-ignited fears that the central bank could keep rates higher for longer.

“This month there is more than usual focus on the economic data coming out as the Fed will have more time to digest and synthesize the data,” said Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management.

“My hypothesis is the Fed’s last hike was at its last meeting, that the economic data between now and the next Federal Reserve meeting in September will show consistent success in taming inflation.”

New York Fed President John Williams, a voting member this year, said he expects interest rates could begin to come down in early 2024, as per a report, while Governor Michelle Bowman said additional interest rate hikes will likely be needed in order to lower inflation to the 2 per cent target.

At 09:51 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 241.97 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 35,307.59, the S&P 500 was up 18.92 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 4,496.95, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 6.62 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 13,915.86.

Tesla slid 2.8 per cent after the electric vehicle giant said that Vaibhav Taneja will replace Zachary Kirkhorn as its finance chief.

Megacap growth and technology stocks Amazon.com and Nvidia inched higher, while Apple, the world’s most valuable firm, fell 1.8 per cent extending its sharp losses from the previous session following a gloomy iPhone sales report.

Overall, second-quarter earnings have been better-than-expected so far, with 79.1 per cent of the 422 S&P 500 companies that have reported as of Friday beating analysts’ estimates, according to Refinitiv data.

Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway gained 2.7 per cent after the Warren Buffett-led conglomerate posted its highest-ever quarterly operating profit.

Sage Therapeutics sank 48.4 per cent, while Biogen slipped 0.4 per cent after the US drug regulator declined to approve the companies’ joint first-of-its-kind postpartum depression (PPD) pill.

Tyson Foods slid 7.8 per cent after the meat packer disappointed Wall Street expectations for third-quarter revenue, as customers scaled back on meat purchases.

Yellow Corp, a nearly 100-year-old US trucking firm, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday, dragging its shares 32.2 per cent lower.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.51-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.22-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded nine new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 28 new highs and 65 new lows. — Reuters