US open: Stocks buoyed by dip in April CPI

Stocks in the US were bounding higher on Wednesday afternoon following the release of data showing the slowest pace of inflation for two years.

At 1511 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 0.16% to 33,616.30, alongside a gain of 0.61% to 4,144.48 for the S&P 500-

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite meanwhile was ahead by 1.18% to 12,323.06.

In parallel, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield was trading six basis points lower at 3.461%.

According to the US Department of Labor, headline and core CPI increased by 0.4% month-on-month, as expected by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

The annual rates of increase for both dipped by one tenth of a percentage point to 4.9% and 5.5%, respectively.

"[...] Core services prices ex-rent rose only 0.11% in April, the smallest increase since July last year," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"This means the equivalent measure in the core PCE deflator, which the Fed is now watching very closely, is set for a third straight relatively benign reading. The trend appears to be breaking to the downside, and if that continues - as we expect - and the labor market softens, as implied by all the leading indicators, the Fed’s line of no rate cuts this year will soon become indefensible."

In corporate news, New York Times shares were down by 6% after the publisher reported slowed second quarter ad growth.

Wendy’s on the other hand posted better-than-expected first quarter sales, profits and LFLs.

Walt Disney Co. was scheduled to post its own second quarter results after the close of trading in New York.