Wall Street rises to record closing highs on wings of CPI

LIVE MARKETS-Wall Street rises to record closing highs on wings of CPI

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WALL STREET RISES TO RECORD CLOSING HIGHS ON WINGS OF CPI

U.S. stocks nabbed all-time closing highs on Wednesday as investors interpreted a modest cool-down in inflation data as a sign that the Fed might be good for as many as two policy rate cuts by the time 2025 rolls around.

All three major U.S. stock indexes wrapped up the session with sharp gains, with the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC gaining more than 1% each. The blue-chip Dow .DJI rose 0.9%.

Chips .SOX were the clear outperformers – jumping 2.9% – fueled by a 3.6% advance in shares of card-carrying “magnificent seven” member, Nvidia NVDA.O.

While the Labor Department’s CPI report was largely inline – and even slightly cooler – than analyst expectations, the report provided a nice distraction from decidedly more downbeat data.

Retail sales were unchanged despite spiking gasoline prices, homebuilders turned pessimistic, and the manufacturing sector in New York State contracted more sharply than expected.

Thursday promises another data-heavy morning, with housing starts/building permits, jobless claims, Philly Fed, import prices and industrial output, all promising to give market participants something to chew on.

Here’s your closing snapshot:

(Stephen Culp)

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FOR WEDNESDAY’S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:

LPL FINANCIAL STILL HAS DOUBTS WHEN IT COMES TO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE – CLICK HERE

BENCHMARK TREASURY YIELD TUMBLES, TESTS 200-DAY MOVING AVERAGE – CLICK HERE

NON-CPI ALSO-RANS: RETAIL SALES, HOMEBUILDER SENTIMENT, EMPIRE STATE, ET AL – CLICK HERE

S&P 500, NASDAQ HIT NEW HIGHS IN EARLY TRADE – CLICK HERE

THE GREAT BIG INFLATION SHOW: CPI DELIVERS THE GOOD – CLICK HERE

U.S. STOCK FUTURES SWEPT UP BY DATA FLOOD – CLICK HERE

SPANISH AND ITALIAN BANKS: “STILL THE PLACE TO BE” – CLICK HERE

OBSESSED WITH INFLATION? YOU’RE NOT ALONE – CLICK HERE

CURRENCIES BRACE FOR US CPI JOLT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER – CLICK HERE

FOUR MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM UK BANK RESULTS – CLICK HERE

YOUR BRITISH SHOPPING LIST – CLICK HERE

STELLAR EARNINGS LIFT MOOD IN EUROPE – CLICK HERE

FUTURES SIGNAL RISES IN EUROPE AS TRADERS AWAIT U.S. INFLATION – CLICK HERE

POWER OF POWELL LIFTS STOCKS AHEAD OF US CPI – CLICK HERE