Nasdaq, S&P, Dow mixed following higher-than-expected core PPI print
Contributor since / Followers
uschools
Wall Street’s major market averages were mixed on Thursday as investors sifted through another round of inflation data, with wholesale prices rising above expectations, while weekly jobless claims edged up.
U.S. stock averages were muted after the Producer Price Index report. They mostly drifted lower after another Thursday data point – initial jobless claims edging higher to 230K – then came off session lows. The S&P 500 (SP500) +0.1%, looking at a fourth consecutive gain. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) +0.2%, and the Dow (DJI) was -0.1%, weighed in part by Intel (INTC).
Headline PPI rose 0.2% M/M in August, faster than the 0.1% expected. Core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, advanced 0.3% vs. 0.2% consensus. The PPI data followed Wednesday’s CPI report showing core prices rising more than anticipated. The CPI data drove down the odds of a large interest rate cut of 50 basis points by the Federal Reserve at its meeting next week.
“This morning’s US data releases — in-line weekly jobless claims and broadly in-line PPI #inflation numbers (the exception being a slightly hotter monthly core measure)– make what was already an unlikely possibility of a 50 bps Fed rate cut next week even more unlikely,” Mohamed El-Erian, economic advisor to Allianz SE, PIMCO’s parent company, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) was up 3 basis points to 3.68%. The 2-year yield (US2Y) was up 3 basis points to 3.68%.
Among equities, six S&P 500 (SP500) sectors rose, topped by the Energy and Communication Services groups. Five other sectors fell, with Real Estate down the most. Market heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) +1.5%, on track for a fourth straight gain. But chipmaker Micron (MU) -4.5% following a double downgrade and price-target cuts from analysts stemming from a temporary slowdown in non-high-bandwidth memory markets.