Dow rises despite higher August CPI data
U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 170 points, while Treasury yields declined after the latest consumer inflation data.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 170 points and S&P 500 added 0.3%.
- Wall Street remained bullish despite consumer price index data coming in hotter-than-expected on Thursday.
- Overall expectation is that the CPI report will not impact anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
Stocks continued higher on Sept. 11 as Wall Street weighed the consumer price index for August, with the inflation data showing consumer prices rose 0.4%. Despite the inflation outlook, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 170 points, notable after the blue-chip index showed muted sessions this week.
Investors, buoyed by expectations of a long-awaited Federal Reserve interest-rate cut, also piled into the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. The benchmark index, which has soared to record highs amid bullish sentiment across risk-asset markets, extended record highs above 6,500 by 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite also added 0.3% and remains at record highs.
This upbeat sentiment has also pushed Bitcoin (BTC) higher.
Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 4% to 4.002%, and the 30-year Treasury yield shed more than 1 basis point to hover at 4.661%.
CPI report and U.S. jobless claims
On Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest inflation data. The report showed that the consumer price index for August ticked up month over month with 0.4% against expected 0.3% and above 0.2% in July.
However, the CPI came in-line with the forecast annual inflation rate of 0.29%.
Notably, core CPI, which excludes food and energy categories, stood at 0.3% in August and 3.1% annually. These figures align with economists’ forecasts, and investor sentiment rose as core CPI is considered the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
Also released on Thursday was the Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims report, which showed a surprise jump in claims for unemployment compensation.
The data indicated the number of Americans filing jobless claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 263,000, slightly higher than the expected 235,000. Weekly jobless claims were up 27,000 from the previous period.
Despite the slight jump in CPI in August, investors are largely bullish on the Fed cutting interest rates next week.
