NEW YORK, Sept 13 — Wall Street’s main indexes rose today as data showing a moderate increase in consumer prices in August raised hopes the Federal Reserve could leave interest rates unchanged in its September policy meet.
Consumer price inflation rose in line with expectations on a monthly basis by 0.6 per cent in August, compared with a 0.2 per cent rise in July, but core inflation rose by a more-than-expected 0.3 per cent last month.
On a yearly basis, the headline inflation rose marginally higher than expected at 3.7 per cent in August compared with a 3.2 per cent increase in July.
Gasoline prices accelerated in August, peaking at US$3.984 (RM18.66) per gallon in the third week of the month, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. That compared to US$3.676 per gallon during the same period in July.
“Inflation is already contained so these monthly numbers are more noise than substantive,” said Jay Hatfield, chief executive officer at Infrastructure Capital Management.
“It is really a reflection of the fact that there is a bleed through of energy prices to core and our models show the energy prices are likely to stay range bound, so we do think that inflation’s contained.”
Traders see a 97 per cent chance of the Fed holding rates in September and a near 58 per cent likelihood of a pause in November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
The Fed is likely to cut rates only from April-June next year, a Reuters poll showed.
Yield on the two-year Treasury note, which best reflects short-term interest rate expectations, hovered around 4.9967 per cent.
Major megacap growth stocks were mixed, with Tesla and Meta Platforms up 1.9 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively, while Apple and Alphabet lost 0.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
Investors will now shift focus to August producer prices and retail sales data on Thursday ahead of the Fed’s September 20 policy decision.
Ford gained 2.6 per cent on plans to double production of its hybrid F-150 pickup trucks in 2024.
The consumer discretionary sector, which houses Ford, added 0.7 per cent, to lead gains among major S&P 500 sectors.
At 9.47am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 60.81 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 34,706.80, the S&P 500 was up 7.02 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 4,468.92, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 27.41 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 13,801.03.
US-listed shares of Chinese electric-vehicle makers Li Auto, Nio and Xpeng fell between 1.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent after the European Commission started an investigation on whether to impose tariffs on their vehicles.
Sprit Airlines lost 1.6 per cent as the low-cost carrier cut its third-quarter revenue outlook to reflect rising fuel prices.
Moderna gained 5.4 per cent after the drugmaker said its flu vaccine mRNA-1010 met its primary goal in a late-stage trial. The firm also announced it was scaling down manufacturing of its Covid-19 vaccine.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.17-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.12-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded nine new highs and 58 new lows. — Reuters
