Dow, S&P 500 edge higher after inflation data keeps Fed rate-cut hopes intact

By Purvi Agarwal and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) -The S&P 500 and the Dow edged higher on Wednesday after in-line consumer price inflation data kept the U.S. Federal Reserve on track to deliver another interest rate cut in December.

The consumer price index rose 0.2% in October for the fourth straight month, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said, and advanced 2.6% on an annual basis. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI increased 0.3% in October. The numbers were in line with economists' forecasts.

"With inflation holding steady, the market narrative should not see a significant shift as a result of today's data," said Josh Jamner, investment strategy analyst at ClearBridge Investments.

Expectations for a 25-basis point interest rate cut at the Fed's December meeting jumped to more than 82% after the data, from around 58%, according to CME FedWatch.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in an interview with Bloomberg TV he was confident inflation was headed down, noting that the CPI data "confirms" that downward path.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 193.95 points, or 0.44%, to 44,104.93, the S&P 500 gained 13.05 points, or 0.22%, to 5,997.18, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.86 points, or 0.01%, to 19,279.54.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield eased slightly on the day, but was still above the 4.4% mark after rising on expectations that President-elect Donald Trump's policies could exacerbate inflation.

Rising yields had pressured the three major Wall Street indexes to close lower on Tuesday.

"The market's up about 5% since the election ... if you have (such a gain) you just have to expect you're going to get some sort of a pullback," said David Lundgren, chief market strategist at Little Harbor Advisors.

Communication services stocks declined 0.4%, weighed down by Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL ) shares that were down 1.2%.

Rate-sensitive small-cap companies tracked by the Russell 2000 index jumped 0.6%, while the real estate sector and consumer discretionary stocks rose about 1% each.

Financial stocks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM ) were among the biggest boosts to the blue-chip Dow.

Despite the declines on Tuesday, Wall Street has been largely upbeat over the past few days, expecting Trump's pro-business stance and possible tax cuts to buoy corporate growth, even as some worries remain over higher tariffs and inflation.

Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE )' shares plunged 56% after a report the U.S. carrier is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection, while the company said it is in talks with creditors.

EV maker Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN ) soared 16.7% after Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p ) on Tuesday raised its investment in the company by 16% to $5.8 billion.

Fed officials Alberto Musalem and Jeffrey Schmid are scheduled to speak later in the day.



Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.51-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 52 new 52-week highs and 14 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 180 new highs and 109 new lows.

Source: Investing.com