US open: Stocks trade higher following CPI reading

Wall Street stocks were in the green at the bell on Wednesday as investors look ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting and another batch of inflation data.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.61% at 38,984.93, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.09% at 5,434.06 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.58% at 17,618.25.

The Dow opened 120.237.51 points higher on Wednesday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session.

Wednesday’s primary focus will be the outcome of the FOMC meeting, with a rate policy decision and press conference by chairman Jerome Powell both slated for 1900 BST. The central bank was widely expected to maintain its benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a range between 5.25% and 5.5%, but the market will also be keeping a keen eye on the Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections, which could clarify the path for policy as market participants grow increasingly concerned that recent strong jobs reports and sticky inflation may support a higher-for-longer interest rate environment.

Elsewhere on the macro front, mortgage applications soared 15.6% in the week ended 7 June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, rebounding from a 5.2% drop in the previous week and erasing the prior two week’s declines. The increase came as average mortgage rates fell five basis points amid a drop in Treasury yields throughout the period. Applications to refinance a home surged 28%, while the to purchase a home increased 12%.

On another note, the cost of living in the United States was unchanged last month, in part due to a steep drop in energy prices. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, headline consumer prices were flat in May - the first such occurrence since July 2022. Economists had pencilled-in an increase of 0.1%. In annual terms, the rate of increase in headline CPI ticked lower by a tenth of a percentage point to 3.3%. Food prices ticked up by just 0.1% over the month, whilst those for energy dropped by 2.0%, snapping a three-month string of gains.

In the corporate space, Oracle shares surged more than 12% in early trade after the tech company’s announcement that it had struck deals with both Google and OpenAI offset its Q4 miss, while Rentokil Initial shares rallied over 15% on the back of news that Trian Partners had taken a significant position in the pest-control giant.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $214.34 3.47%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $345.70 2.97%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $454.39 2.28%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $334.10 2.07%
3M Co. (MMM) $102.89 1.55%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.37 1.46%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $438.17 1.27%
American Express Co. (AXP) $227.37 1.26%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $56.86 1.26%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $170.82 0.89%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $238.58 -1.00%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $165.99 -0.89%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $66.14 -0.88%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $130.89 -0.72%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $95.18 -0.72%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $63.12 -0.68%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $145.79 -0.66%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.21 -0.53%
Boeing Co. (BA) $184.70 -0.43%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $208.72 -0.33%

S&P 500 - Risers

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $138.85 12.08%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $26.46 11.36%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $57.78 9.85%
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $250.11 8.53%
Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $62.25 6.61%
Macerich Co (MAC) $15.55 6.36%
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $15.93 6.31%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $147.55 5.73%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $599.10 5.72%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $662.38 5.48%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Amphenol Corp. (APH) $67.49 -49.80%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $576.30 -2.54%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $79.19 -2.29%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $97.20 -1.83%
Church Dwight Co Inc. (CHD) $106.02 -1.77%
Progressive Corp. (PGR) $205.01 -1.67%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $65.90 -1.61%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $175.83 -1.52%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $42.38 -1.48%
Cencora Inc (COR) $229.20 -1.47%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $599.10 5.72%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $2.67 4.49%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.72 4.27%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $263.88 4.18%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $99.89 3.81%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $219.34 3.70%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $140.00 3.65%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $214.34 3.47%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,069.19 3.20%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $1,029.00 2.93%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $174.01 -2.46%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $261.14 -1.33%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $211.75 -1.11%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $33.29 -1.05%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $66.93 -0.96%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $477.64 -0.81%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $50.77 -0.76%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $79.34 -0.69%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $38.07 -0.65%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $50.77 -0.61%