US markets end higher on Wednesday

16 Nov 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday, magnifying their previous session’s gains, as the latest inflation data added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates. The Labor Department released a report showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. producer prices in the month of October. The Labor Department said its producer price index fell by 0.5 percent in October after rising by a revised 0.4 percent in September. Producer prices were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 1.3 percent in October from 2.2 percent in September. Street had expected the pace of price growth to slow to 1.9 percent.

Following yesterday's tamer than expected consumer price inflation data, the latest report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates. Meanwhile, a report released by the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. edged slightly lower in the month of October. The Commerce Department said retail sales slipped by 0.1 percent in October after jumping by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in September. Street had expected retail sales to dip by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. On the sectoral front, airline stocks saw further upside after skyrocketing in the previous session, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 2.9 percent to its best closing level in well over a month. Significant strength was also visible among banking stocks, with the KBW Bank Index climbing by 1.4 percent to a two-month closing high.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 163.51 points or 0.47 percent to 34,991.21, Nasdaq added 9.45 points or 0.07 percent to 14,103.84 and S&P 500 was up by 7.18 points or 0.16 percent to 4,502.88.  


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