Nasdaq, S&P 500 Climb

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 traded higher, while the Dow Jones hovered near the flat line on Wednesday afternoon, as softer-than-expected inflation data boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve may hold off on another rate hike as soon as next month. The PCE price index rose 0.3% in August, below expectations of 0.4%, while core PCE increased 0.2%, also below forecasts of 0.3%. Year-on-year, headline PCE inflation stood at 3.4%, below expectations of 3.7%. Markets are now pricing in a below 40% chance of a 25 bps rate hike in October. Tech stocks led the gains with Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft up around 2%. Chip stocks also advanced broadly, with Intel jumping as much as 3%.

US stocks rose Wednesday, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.4% and Dow futures gaining 100 points, as softer-than-expected inflation data boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve may hold off on another rate hike as soon as next month. The PCE price index rose 0.3% in August, below expectations of 0.4%, while core PCE increased 0.2%, also below forecasts of 0.3%. Year-on-year, headline PCE inflation stood at 3.4%, below expectations of 3.7%. Markets are now pricing in a below 40% chance of a 25 bps rate hike in October. Most megacap and growth stocks edged higher, with Alphabet and Apple gaining slightly and Microsoft up 1%. Chip stocks also advanced broadly, with Intel jumping more than 3%. Despite the gains, market performance in September was mixed amid high bond-market volatility, elevated oil prices linked to the US-Iran war, and expectations of further policy tightening later this year. Still, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on track for a second consecutive quarterly gain.

The Dow Jones Index is gaining 66 points or 0.13 percent on Wednesday. Leading the gains are Nvidia (1.57%), Microsoft (1.30%) and Boeing (1.03%). Top losers are UnitedHealth (-1.54%), Visa (-1.10%) and Merck (-0.70%).