US close: Stocks regain some of yesterday's CPI-fuelled losses

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday as major indices attempted to bounce back from yesterday's CPI-fuelled heavy sell-off.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.40% at 38,424.27, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.96% to 5,000.62, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.30% firmer at 15,859.15.

The Dow closed 151.52 points higher on Wednesday, taking only a small bite out of losses recorded in the previous session as hotter-than-expected inflation data led to a sell-off that saw the Street register its worst day since March 2023 as traders worried that the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates quite as early as initially hoped.

The consumer price index gained 0.3% in January versus December and was 3.1% higher year-on-year, with economists originally expecting to see a 0.2% and 2.9% increase, respectively. This means January's CPI reading likely pushes the likelihood of the central bank making any changes to interest rate policy out to the second half of the year - later than previous expectations of a rate cut taking place as early as March.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 2.3% in the week ended 9 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, cutting into the prior week's 3.7% increase and marking the second fall in mortgage demand so far this year. Applications to purchase a home fell 3% week-on-week, while those to refinance a home dropped 2%.

In the corporate space, Lyft traded higher in pre-market after the ride-sharing giant reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, while online accommodation booking platform operator Airbnb was trading lower despite the company posting results that beat revenue expectations for its latest quarter.

Kraft-Heinz beat earnings per share estimates by a single cent but said revenues had fallen short of expectations amid market headwinds.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin was up 4.09% at the close, hitting its highest level in two years and pushing the bellwether cryptocurrency's market cap back over $1.0trn as the growing success of US spot bitcoin ETFs lifted investor sentiment.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $289.01 2.80%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.23 2.48%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $316.77 1.26%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $106.26 1.20%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $50.22 1.18%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.48 0.92%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $175.55 0.74%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.57 0.73%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $409.14 0.69%
American Express Co. (AXP) $210.86 0.57%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $184.00 -0.56%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $155.63 -0.54%
Boeing Co. (BA) $203.37 -0.53%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $155.59 -0.44%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $377.36 -0.37%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $168.64 -0.30%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $183.29 -0.22%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $59.26 -0.15%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $290.15 -0.11%
3M Co. (MMM) $92.59 -0.08%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.76 16.02%
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $242.57 12.68%
DaVita Inc (DVA) $123.27 8.51%
Welltower Inc (WELL) $93.39 7.01%
Eversource Energy (ES) $57.29 5.12%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $4.74 4.76%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $139.96 4.65%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $579.96 4.59%
VF Corp. (VFC) $17.17 4.41%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $8.06 4.34%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $115.42 -7.70%
MGM Resorts International (MGM) $42.97 -5.88%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $34.19 -5.38%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $33.12 -2.70%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $57.80 -2.60%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $221.55 -2.25%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.59 -2.16%
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $418.04 -1.99%
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) $216.82 -1.97%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $40.92 -1.93%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.92 6.19%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $139.96 4.65%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $579.96 4.59%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $23.06 4.20%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $52.71 4.17%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $302.44 3.46%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $186.14 3.23%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $657.26 2.97%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $142.99 2.87%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $473.01 2.80%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $34.19 -5.38%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $57.80 -2.60%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $221.55 -2.25%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $287.54 -1.75%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $526.13 -0.93%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $86.38 -0.90%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $73.04 -0.66%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $71.51 -0.65%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $184.00 -0.56%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $55.87 -0.53%