US close: Stocks rise on back of softer-than-expected inflation

Wall Street stocks ended in positive territory on Wednesday, spurred on by the release of a softer-than-anticipated inflation report, easing investor concerns over the cost of living in the United States.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 0.25% at 34,347.43, as the broader S&P 500 climbed 0.74% to settle at 4,472.16.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite saw the day's most substantial gains, jumping 1.15% to close at 13,918.96.

In currencies, the dollar was last down 0.03% on sterling at 76.98p, while the it dropped 0.07% to trade at 89.79 euro cents.

The greenback did, however, edge up by 0.08% against the yen, last changing hands at JPY 138.61.

“The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 have both broken above their highs of this year, and to the highest levels since April 2022 after US CPI came in softer than expected, increasing hopes that the Federal Reserve rate hiking cycle is in its final stages,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson earlier.

“Yields have fallen sharply with the Nasdaq 100 leading the gains, closely followed by the S&P500.

“Today’s gains have been led by US banks, with the smaller ones seeing a particular benefit on relief that rates probably won’t be going much higher, with the likes of Zions and Comerica leading the way.”

US inflation slows; Bank of Canada raises interest rates to 22-year high

On the economic front, the US experienced a slower rise in living costs last month, with the core level inflation rate also showing a decline, according to fresh data from the Department of Labor.

The consumer price index (CPI) saw a seasonally-adjusted rise of just 0.2% on a monthly basis in June, falling short of the projected 0.3%.

That reduced rise resulted in the annual rate of headline CPI inflation falling to 3.0%, lower than the expected 3.1%.

Core CPI, which discounts food and energy costs due to their volatility and was closely watched by the Federal Reserve, recorded a 0.2% monthly increase.

That was again less than the forecast 0.3%.

The deceleration led to the annual core inflation rate sliding to 4.8%, underperforming the consensus estimate of 5.0%.

North of the border, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 5% on Wednesday.

It marked the highest level for 22 years, and mirrored the predictions of economic analysts.

Equity markets see mixed performances as M&A deals advance

In equities, shares in Microsoft Corporation rose 1.42% as the tech giant expressed its willingness to work with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority over its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The move came in the wake of a US judge clearing the way for Microsoft's acquisition of the videogames giant earlier in the week.

Broadcom and VMware also saw a bump in their stock prices, rising by 0.9% and 2.78% respectively.

This uptick came on the heels of European regulators approving Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, sparking optimism among shareholders for the newly green-lit merger.

On the downside, cosmetics giant Coty dipped 3.46% following reports that Kim Kardashian could buy back a minority stake in her beauty line.

ShiftPixy, an employee management software developer, plummeted by 28.86% after the company's public equity offering was valued at a significant discount.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $227.08 2.76%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.98 2.04%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $326.16 1.72%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $337.20 1.42%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.08 1.29%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $317.41 1.23%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $159.64 0.96%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $189.77 0.90%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $225.68 0.81%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.15 0.74%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $50.74 -2.65%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $451.70 -2.42%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $132.84 -1.19%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $107.41 -1.13%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $30.32 -0.82%
Boeing Co. (BA) $217.11 -0.75%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $171.11 -0.72%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $34.86 -0.37%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $158.08 -0.35%
3M Co. (MMM) $101.57 -0.34%

S&P 500 - Risers

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $35.24 4.88%
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $18.40 4.78%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $45.21 4.39%
Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) $88.27 4.24%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $191.95 3.86%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $309.34 3.70%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $123.67 3.60%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $439.02 3.53%
Mohawk Inds Inc. (MHK) $113.71 3.19%
CBRE Group Inc (CBRE) $86.47 3.14%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $0.00 -100.00%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $63.80 -5.84%
Elevance Health Inc. (ELV) $413.84 -4.78%
CIGNA Corp. (CI) $269.56 -4.63%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $18.22 -3.60%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $12.56 -3.46%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $25.88 -3.07%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $425.08 -2.78%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $21.80 -2.72%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $50.74 -2.65%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $102.80 4.21%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $37.41 3.86%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $191.95 3.86%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $148.83 3.84%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $309.34 3.70%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $37.18 3.62%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $439.02 3.53%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $476.84 2.83%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $724.86 2.82%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $90.71 2.62%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $0.00 -100.00%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $50.74 -2.65%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $135.47 -1.35%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $126.19 -1.27%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $18.57 -1.22%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $219.08 -1.19%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $90.00 -1.09%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $46.41 -1.04%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $30.32 -0.82%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $277.62 -0.79%