US markets end higher after key report shows slowdown in inflation

11 Aug 2022 Evaluate

US markets ended higher on Wednesday after a key inflation reading showed a better-than-expected slowdown for rising prices. The Labor Department released a report showing US consumer prices unexpectedly came in flat in the month of July. The Labor Department said its consumer price index was unchanged in July after jumping by 1.3 percent in June. Street had expected consumer prices to edge up by 0.2 percent. Compared to the same month a year ago, consumer prices in July were up by 8.5 percent, reflecting a bigger than expected slowdown from the 9.1 percent spike in June. The annual rate of price growth was expected to slow to 8.7 percent from the four-decade high seen in the previous month. Meanwhile, the report said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent in July after climbing by 0.7 percent in June. Core prices were expected to increase by 0.5 percent.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth was unchanged at 5.9 percent, while economists had expected an acceleration to 6.1 percent. The tamer than expected inflation data has led to speculation that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of interest rate hikes at its September meeting. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial rebound after pulling back sharply in recent sessions, resulting in a 4.3 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 4 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. The index ended the session at its best closing level in two months. Networking stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 3.6 percent to a three-month closing high.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 535.1 points or 1.63 percent to 33,309.51, Nasdaq gained 360.88 points or 2.9 percent to 12,854.80 and S&P 500 was up by 87.77 points or 2.13 percent to 4,210.24.

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