US stock market: Wall Street ends mixed as inflation data buoys optimism
Nasdaq higher on Thursday after U.S. inflation data matched estimates, underscoring expectations the Federal Reserve could pause its monetary tightening, while Salesforce climbed following an up upbeat forecast.
The Nasdaq reached its highest in over four weeks after a Commerce Department report showed the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, considered the central bank's preferred inflation gauge, climbed 3.3% in July on an annual basis, in line with expectations.
Excluding volatile food and energy components, the core PCE price index rose 4.2% in July, year-on-year, also in line with estimates.
Traders' expectations for a pause in rate hikes at the Fed's September policy meet remained at an 88.5% chance, while their bets on the central bank keeping rates unchanged in November stood at 51%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
«Investors believe the Fed is data dependent, and the data is in the market's favor.
All these interest rate hikes are paying off,» said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Investors are awaiting more comprehensive non-farm payrolls data due on Friday for greater clarity on the Fed's likely monetary path.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury notes eased to 4.09%, lifting major growth stocks such as Amazon, which gained 2.2%.
The most traded stock in the S&P 500 was Tesla, with $27.7 billion worth of shares exchanged during the session. The electric car maker's shares rose 0.46%.
Salesforce rallied 3% following upbeat revenue forecasts from the cloud-based software provider as it benefits from price hikes and a resilient demand.
Weekly jobless claims for the week ended Aug.
