Stocks edged higher Thursday as traders weighed slightly hotter-than-expected inflation data and lingering global trade tensions. Tesla up 2%; Alibaba fell 2.5%; AppLovin soared 33%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 139 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4%.
The latest producer price index, which measures what producers get for their goods and services, reflected a 0.4% increase for January. That’s higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 0.3%. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was up 0.3% for the month and in-line with the forecast.
Stocks rose on the data because despite the hotter number on the surface, the latest PPI report and Wednesday’s consumer price index data point to a softer PCE price index than traders feared. That measure, which will be released in February, is what the Federal Reserve closely tracks.
Data from both the latest PPI and CPI prints indicates that the core PCE measure likely will show a 0.22% increase, down from 0.45% in December, according to Citigroup. That would lower the annual inflation rate down to 2.5%, the firm said.
Wall Street is coming off a choppy session after a data on Wednesday showed consumer prices sped up faster-than-expected, curbing expectations of the next rate cut out to September.
Investors are also grappling with rising global trade tension. On Wednesday, the White House said President Donald Trump would impose reciprocal tariffs on imported goods before meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump posted on Truth Social that there will be a “news conference on reciprocal tariffs” at 1pm ET on Thursday.
Fourth-quarter earnings season continues, meanwhile, with Airbnb, Coinbase and Palo Alto Networks among the companies expected to report after Thursday’s closing bell. Of the more than 69% of S&P 500-listed firms that have already posted results, more than 75% have surpassed Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet.
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