Stock market today: Wall Street drifts after another inflation report as worries about rates remain
U.S. stocks are drifting, a day after tumbling on worries that interest rates may stay high for a while
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are drifting Thursday, a day after tumbling on worries that interest rates may stay high for a while.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in afternoon trading, coming off a slide of 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 138 points, or 0.3%, as of 1:01 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.
In the bond market, which has been driving much of Wall Street’s action, Treasury yields were mixed and maintaining pressure on the stock market. They eased early in the morning and then recovered following a mixed batch of data on the U.S. economy and speculation about when the European Central Bank may cut interest rates. It held its main rate steady after a meeting in Germany.
When or whether the Federal Reserve will deliver the cuts to interest rates in the United States that traders are craving has been one of the main questions dominating Wall Street. After coming into the year forecasting at least six cuts to rates, traders have since drastically scaled back their expectations. A string of hotter — than — expected -reports on inflation and the economy has raised fears that last year’s progress on inflation has stalled. Many traders are now expecting just two cuts in 2024, with some discussing the possibility of zero.
A report on Thursday morning showed inflation at the wholesale level was a touch lower last month than economists expected. That’s encouraging, but it also showed underlying trends for inflation were closer to forecasts or just above. Those numbers strip out the effects of fuel and some other prices that are notoriously jumpy, and economists say they can give a better idea
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