US open: Stocks mixed after higher-than-expected CPI print

federal reserve dl bonds us usa dollar fx — US Federal ReserveFederal Reserve (US government work)

US stocks were trading on a mixed note on Thursday following the release of a slightly stronger-than-expected reading on consumer prices due to higher electricity and rent costs.

Nonetheless, economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics and Oxford Economics said the trend in prices was still pointing lower.

With the opposite effect, market sentiment also got a boost after a China’s sovereign wealth fund Central Huijin Investment bought shares in some of the country’s largest banks.

The Dow Jones Industrials was off by 0.36% to 33,685.46, alongside a -0.13% dip for the S&P 500 to 4,370.71.

The Nasdaq Composite on the other hand was up by 0.17% to 13,684.54.

In the background, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was climbing by nine basis points to 4.656%.

The annual rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index was unchanged in September from the month before at 3.7% (consensus: 3.6%).

Core CPI on the other hand did slow from 4.4% (Preliminary: 4.3%) to 4.1% (consensus: 4.1%).

On the back of those figures, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "Our forecast implies the core PCE rose at mere 2.5% annualized rate in the three months to September, compared to the previous three months, the slowest rate since January 2021 and closing in on the target.

"The y/y rate will remain elevated, dipping to 3.7% from 3.9% in August, but the Fed will not wait until 2% y/y is reached before starting to ease."

In US company news, Birkenstock's stock-market debut on Wednesday failed to excite the Street with shares in the Germany sandal maker finishing more than 12% below its IPO price.

Microsoft shares were unchanged after the software giant received a whopping $29bn tax bill from the IRS for back taxes.

Walgreens is likely to take a tumble when markets open after the pharmacy giant missed quarterly estimates.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $23.47 3.85%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $182.03 1.24%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $285.43 0.65%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $53.99 0.61%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $99.21 0.57%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $207.96 0.54%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $161.83 0.45%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.99 0.28%
Visa Inc. (V) $236.30 0.26%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $158.33 0.06%