US open: Modest gains for Wall Street on the back of slower CPI gains
US stocks were trading on the front foot following the release of a slightly better-than-expected reading on inflation.
According to Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot: "Talk of recession is becoming increasingly unlikely, but growth will still be challenging to come about.
"The Fed will be acutely aware of this and won’t want to act too quickly in cutting rates. As a result, it will be comfortable to pause on rates at this point, but assuming a significant amount of cuts by the end of the year may be a little optimistic, particularly as we are still awaiting the true effect of the rate rises of the last year."
At 1458 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 0.43% to 34,212.77, while the S&P 500 was adding 0.44% to 4,357.83.
The Nasdaq Composite meanwhile was gaining 0.42% to 13,531.94.
Worth noting, in the background US central bankers were starting a two-day policy meeting with an announcement due out late the next day.
The US consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 4.0% in May, down from 4.9% during the previous month (consensus: 4.1%).
In comparison to April, prices rose by 0.1% on the month, as expected, and by 0.4% at the so-called core level, also as expected.
Gasoline price declines dragged on headline CPI while used vehicle and rent prices bolstered core CPI.
But Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, believed the latter two categories might soon drag the monthly rate of core CPI gains to 0.2%.
In equity markets, shares of software firm Oracle jumped 5% after the release of better-than-expected fourth-quarter results late on Monday.
On the M&A front, oilseed processor Bunge and grain trader Viterra agreed to merge in an $18bn deal.
"Together, the highly complementary organizations will benefit from more diversified capabilities, greater operational flexibility across oilseed and grain supply chains and processing, greater resources and combined employee talent to innovate and deliver for customers in every environment, creating value for all stakeholders," they said.
Dow Jones - Risers
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.18 2.66%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $243.32 2.28%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $177.43 1.52%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $159.70 1.51%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $344.57 1.50%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $219.84 1.14%
American Express Co. (AXP) $175.61 1.13%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.07 1.00%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.40 1.00%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $303.64 0.92%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $211.70 -0.93%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $109.15 -0.65%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $183.26 -0.29%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Boeing Co. (BA) $221.61 0.02%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $159.98 0.05%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $145.51 0.07%
Visa Inc. (V) $226.61 0.19%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.33 0.20%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $35.69 0.22%
S&P 500 - Risers
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.94 6.05%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $35.44 5.35%
Comerica Inc. (CMA) $43.19 5.26%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $70.35 5.17%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $39.59 4.68%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $32.94 3.81%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $120.78 3.74%
Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $130.15 3.60%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $51.12 3.48%
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $32.76 3.41%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $29.22 -3.37%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $302.89 -3.36%
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $447.40 -2.71%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $80.26 -1.62%
Extra Space Storage (EXR) $143.09 -1.57%
Public Storage (PSA) $283.36 -1.50%
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $447.07 -1.42%
Ameren Corp. (AEE) $82.48 -1.26%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $844.84 -1.23%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $620.08 -1.19%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $145.02 7.93%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $38.63 5.27%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $96.31 3.14%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $65.19 2.81%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.98 2.57%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $84.94 2.44%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $433.97 2.36%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $318.47 2.31%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.74 2.20%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $238.32 2.19%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $302.89 -3.36%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,218.46 -1.59%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $844.84 -1.23%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $620.08 -1.19%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $217.95 -0.53%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $207.24 -0.43%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $444.42 -0.38%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $444.37 -0.37%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $130.30 -0.37%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $183.26 -0.29%