U.S. markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday amid mild inflation data that eased concerns about interest rates. The Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices crept up in line with street estimates in the month of July. The Labor Department said consumer prices inched up by 0.1 percent in July after falling by 0.4 percent in June. The uptick in consumer prices matched street estimates. The report also said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.2 percent in July after coming in unchanged in June. The increase in core prices also matched expectations. The annual rate of growth by consumer prices edged down to 3.4 percent in July from 3.5 percent in June, while the annual rate of growth by core consumer prices slipped to 2.5 percent in July from 2.6 percent in June. The modest slowdowns also came in line with estimates.
On the sectoral front, with Super Micro Computer leading the sector higher, computer hardware stocks extended the rally seen over the past few sessions. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index spiked by 5.5 percent to a record closing high. Networking and semiconductor stocks also saw substantial strength, contributing to the upward move by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Transportation, gold and brokerage stocks also moved higher on the day, while housing and software stocks moved notably lower.
Nasdaq jumped 143.04 points or 0.54 percent to 26,588.48 and S&P 500 gained 20.3 points or 0.26 percent to 7,748.5, while Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 21.58 points or 0.04 percent to 53,770.27.
