US stock market: Wall Street indices rise s softer produce prices boost rate cut bets

United States stock indices closed higher on Tuesday (August 13), reaching a near two-week peak after softer-than-expected producer prices data strengthened expectations of an interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

Producer prices in the US rose less than anticipated in July, as a moderate increase in goods costs was offset by a decline in services prices, suggesting that inflation continues to ease. The Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 2.2 per cent in the 12 months through July, following a 2.7 per cent rise in June.

The S&P 500 gained 90.04 points, or 1.68 per cent, closing at 5,434.43 points, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 407.00 points, or 2.43 per cent, to finish at 17,187.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 408.63 points, or 1.04 per cent, ending the session at 39,765.64.

More from Business

Hyundai India’s Rs 27,870 crore IPO oversubscribed by 2.28X, largely driven by institutional investors How Indian fintech startups are driving Malaysia’s UPI-like digital payments revolution

Market movers

Starbucks emerged as the top performer on the S&P 500, with shares soaring 24.5 per cent—its largest single-day percentage gain ever—following the announcement of Brian Niccol, Chipotle Mexican Grill’s head, as its new chairman and CEO. In contrast, Chipotle’s shares fell by 7.5 per cent.

Home Depot managed to reverse earlier losses, climbing 1.2 per cent despite forecasting a decline in annual profit and a more significant drop in annual comparable sales.

BuzzFeed experienced a significant jump, with shares rising 25.9 per cent after the digital media company reported a narrower net loss of $6.6 million in the second quarter, down from $22.5 million a year earlier.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

Chennai Ranks #1 in Challan Checks: ACKO Insights for Smarter Car and Two Wheeler Insurance Decisions

Tata Harrier EV vs Mahindra XEV 9e: Design and road presence compared

Wall Street eyes rate cuts

“The trend in inflation is heading in the right direction, and today was good news,” Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management told AFP.

Investors are now keenly awaiting key consumer-price figures for July, due on Wednesday, and retail sales data on Thursday, which will help solidify expectations of an aggressive rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

According to CME’s FedWatch Tool, traders now see a 55 per cent chance of a 50-basis-point rate cut by the US central bank, up from less than 50 per cent before the report was released.

With inputs from agencies