Wall Street regains some ground after inflation report

Wall Street stocks regained some ground Wednesday helped by a rise in tech shares, as easing inflation assuaged some investor jitters about the world’s biggest economy even as tariff worries lingered.

The broad-based S&P 500 Index gained 0.5 percent to 5,599.30 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.2 percent to 17,648.45.

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 percent to 41,350.93.

The shifts came after the consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, came in cooler than expected for February, the first full month that President Donald Trump was in office.

CPI was up 2.8 percent from a year ago, a touch lower than the 3.0 percent increase in January, according to Labor Department data.

Excluding the volatile food and energy segments, “core” CPI was up 3.1 percent, also easing from before.

But Karl Haeling of LBBW cautioned that the market rebound might have more to do with its “technical condition.”

“Tech stocks got hit the most, so they’re the ones that are bouncing the most,” he said.

US markets slumped early this week on fears that Trump’s tariff policies might nudge the country’s economy into a downturn.

But tech stocks picked up Wednesday with Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla logging notable gains.

As for the health of the US economy, subsequent data reports will likely be more meaningful when it comes to reflecting the effects of tariffs, Haeling added.

On Wednesday, Trump’s sweeping levies on steel and aluminium imports kicked in, marking the latest salvo in his broadening series of duties. (AFP)

Wall Street stocks regained some ground Wednesday helped by a rise in tech shares, as easing inflation assuaged some investor jitters about the world’s biggest economy even as tariff worries lingered.

The broad-based S&P 500 Index gained 0.5 percent to 5,599.30 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.2 percent to 17,648.45.

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 percent to 41,350.93.

The shifts came after the consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, came in cooler than expected for February, the first full month that President Donald Trump was in office.

CPI was up 2.8 percent from a year ago, a touch lower than the 3.0 percent increase in January, according to Labor Department data.

Excluding the volatile food and energy segments, “core” CPI was up 3.1 percent, also easing from before.

But Karl Haeling of LBBW cautioned that the market rebound might have more to do with its “technical condition.”

“Tech stocks got hit the most, so they’re the ones that are bouncing the most,” he said.

US markets slumped early this week on fears that Trump’s tariff policies might nudge the country’s economy into a downturn.

But tech stocks picked up Wednesday with Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla logging notable gains.

As for the health of the US economy, subsequent data reports will likely be more meaningful when it comes to reflecting the effects of tariffs, Haeling added.

On Wednesday, Trump’s sweeping levies on steel and aluminium imports kicked in, marking the latest salvo in his broadening series of duties. (AFP)