US stocks edged higher on Thursday following inflation report that came in line with the expections.
At 09:33 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 120.40 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 39,069.42, the S&P 500 was up 25.07 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 5,094.83, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 126.87 points, or 0.80 per cent, at 16,074.61.
The inflation report showed that prices across the US rose pretty much exactly as expected in January. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the US Federal Reserve’s favoured measure for inflation, rose at an annual rate of 2.4 per cent in January, down 0.2 percentage points from December.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64.73 points, or 0.17 per cent, at the open to 39,013.75. The S&P 500 opened higher by 15.60 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 5,085.36, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 111.60 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 16,059.34.
Best Buy stock jumped 6.4 per cent after reporting better-than-expected earnings.
Media conglomerate Paramount Global climbed 7.2 per cent as it reported a profit on streaming gains.
Cryptocurrency firms such as Coinbase Global and MicroStrategy advanced over 5 per cent each as bitcoin continued its upward climb.
WW International plunged 18.7 per cent after the weight-loss services firm disclosed Oprah Winfrey will exit its board.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked down to 4.25 per cent from 4.27 per cent late Wednesday.
The 2-year yield dipped to 4.64 per cent from 4.65 per cent.
In Europe, stock markets were mixed on Thursday.
Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.4 per cent at 7,651.72 points. France’s CAC 40 was flat at 7,955.13. Germany’s DAX added 0.6 per cent at 17,697.36.
Euro Stoxx 50 was flat at 4,884.09.
Data showed inflation eased further in France and Spain in February.
Eurozone inflation figures are due on Friday.
In Asian stock markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.2 per cent at 16,511.44. China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 1.9 per cent at 3,015.17.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.1 per cent at 39,166.19.
Oil prices were little changed Thursday as January US inflation data reinforced hopes for a rate cut in June.
Brent crude futures for April were down 2 cents at $83.66 a barrel by 1355 GMT. The April contract expires on Thursday and the more active May contract was up 2 cents at $82.17. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 25 cents to $78.79.
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Published: 29 Feb 2024, 08:34 PM IST