Stocks rose on Wednesday after inflation jumped, but not by quite as much as investors feared when stripping out volatile food and energy prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 182.27 points to reach Wednesday afternoon at 35,446.94, to reach a new intraday record. The 30-stock Dow was lifted by names like Caterpillar and Home Depot.
The S&P 500 added 5.17 points to 4,441.92
The NASDAQ dropped 53.85 points to 14,734.24.
Wendy’s rose 2% after reporting better-than-expected earnings before the bell. Lordstown Motors, eBay and Bumble are on deck for after-hour releases.
Through Friday, 87% of the S&P 500 companies that reported quarterly results have beat earnings estimates. The same percentage of companies beat revenue estimates during that timeframe.
July’s Consumer Price Index released Wednesday showed prices jumped 5.4% since last year, compared to expectations of 5.3%, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The government said CPI increased 0.5% in July on month-to-month basis.
But investors were concentrating on the core rate of inflation. CPI, excluding energy and food prices, rose by 0.3% last month, below the 0.4% increase expected. Core prices still jumped 4.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were lower, raising yields to Tuesday’s 1.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 36 cents to $67.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $18.50 to $1,750.50 U.S. an ounce.