Stock market today: Wall Street gets back to climbing
U.S. stocks are rising after the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes are rising Wednesday after the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 gained 1% and is on track to break its first two-day losing streak in nearly a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57 points, or 0.1%, as of 1:32 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.8% and was heading for a record.
Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market as expectations built that Wednesday’s inflation data will allow the Fed to deliver another cut to interest rates at its meeting next week.
Traders are betting on a 95% probability of that, according to data from CME Group, up from 89% a day before. If they’re correct, it would be a third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a two-decade high. It’s hoping to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target.
Lower rates would give a boost to the economy, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation.
Wednesday’s report said U.S. consumers paid prices in November that were 2.7% higher than a year earlier. That’s a slight acceleration from October’s inflation rate of 2.6%, but it was exactly what economists were expecting. Another report on inflation at the wholesale level will arrive on Thursday.
“The data have given the Fed the ‘all clear’ for next week, and today’s inflation data keep a January cut in active discussion,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
Expectati
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