Dow rises on further signs of easing inflation

The Dow jumped Wednesday as data showing further progress on disinflation front is expected to bring the Federal Reserve a step closer to begin the rate-cutting cycle.  

At 13:49 ET (17:49 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 268 points, or 0.7%, higher, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and NASDAQ Composite fell 0.2%. CPI data add to evidence of cooling inflation

U.S. consumer prices increased by less than expected on an annualized basis in July, with the July consumer price index rising by 2.9%, decelerating slightly from 3.0% in June. Economists had predicted that the figure would match June's rate.

Stripping out more volatile items like food and fuel, the "core" number climbed by 3.2% in the twelve months to July, below projections of 3.3%. 

The report comes just a day after Tuesday’s cooler-than-expected July producer price index, adding to signs that the Fed's policies are working to bring down inflation. 

"The Fed has been desperate for signs of the impact of their rate hikes on demand and inflation, and they have finally started seeing it since May," Jefferies said in a Wednesday note. Intel sells Arm stake; Google in legal spotlight; Kellanova in deal fever

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC ) sold its 1.18 million share stake in British chip firm Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM ) in the second quarter, a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday.

The chipmaker said earlier this month that it would cut more than 15% of its workforce and suspend its dividend amid a pullback in spending on traditional data center semiconductors and a shift towards AI chips.

Kellanova (NYSE:K ) rose nearly 8% after the packaged foods maker agred to be acquired by chocolate giant Mars at price of  $83.50. 

Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL ) fell 3% on a Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources, that the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly mulling plans to rein in Google's dominance in online search including a break up.  Crude falls on surprise build in US inventories

Crude prices fell Wednesday, following a decline in weekly U.S. stockpiles.

Data from the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. oil inventories unexpectedly increased by 1.4 million barrels in the week to Aug. 9, compared with expectations for a draw of 1.9 million barrels.

The surprise build comes as the travel-laden summer boost to demand continues to wind down. 

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

Source: Investing.com