Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange floor on November 12, 2024 in New York City.
Source: NYSE
The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched higher Wednesday as investors look to keep a postelection rally going after a key inflation report was in line with expectations.
The 30-stock Dow added 180 points, or 0.03%. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked down 0.01%.
The October consumer price index accelerated a tad to a 2.6% annual rate, matching the consensus estimate from economists polled by Dow Jones. Core prices, which exclude food and energy from the reading, rose 3.3% last month, which also matched estimates. After the inflation report, fed funds futures trading suggested a high likelihood that central bank policymakers would cut rates again in December, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
“It’s time to stop worrying about the Fed and inflation,” said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation. “Stocks have been on autopilot since the election and today’s numbers do nothing to hurt the trend. December is still in play for a cut.”
The major averages fell Tuesday as the market took a breather from its postelection rally. The 30-stock Dow fell about 382 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 declined 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched down 0.1%.
These moves followed a rally on Wall Street after the election of Donald Trump last week that sent stocks to record highs. The Dow closed above 44,000 for the first time on Monday, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also earned fresh records. The gains also extended to cryptocurrencies, sending bitcoin above $90,000 on hopes that Trump will make good on a slew of promises to the industry.
Other notable economic data releases later this week include the producer price index data and retail sales numbers, which will be announced Thursday and Friday, respectively.