US open: Wall Street edges up despite 'hot' CPI report

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street was trading on the front foot in the first half of Wednesday's session, as traders shrugged off a slightly stronger-than- expected reading on August consumer prices. As of 1550 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was edging up by 0.14% to 34,692.66, alongside a 0.19% gain for the S&P 500 to 4,471.52.

The Nasdaq Composite meanwhile was up by 0.31% at 13,816.88.

In parallel, the yield on the policy-sensitive two-year US Treasury note was roughly flat at 4,999%.

The cost of living in the U.S. rose a tad more quickly than anticipated last month, driven higher by the cost of petrol and for auto insurance.

According to the Department of Labor, the headline Consumer Price Index rose at a month-on-month pace of 0.6% in August (3.7% year-on-year), while at the core level CPI was up 4.3%.

Economists had forecast increases of 3.6% and 4.3%, respectively.

Andrew Hunter, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said: "Overall, there is nothing here to change the Fed's plans to hold interest rates unchanged at next week's FOMC meeting, and we still expect weaker economic growth and a continued normalisation in the labour market to help drive a sharper fall in core inflation over the next 12 months than most others expect."

In corporate news, Apple was trading lower by 1% despite it unveiling an array of new products during its annual marketing event, Wanderlust.

Among those were the iPhone 15, the latest Apple Watch, and new versions of AirPods. In a significant pricing move, Apple announced an increase in the price of its premium iPhone, which could raise the average cost of the device beyond the $1,000 mark.

Apple shares had been under pressure over the past week on reports that China is banning government officials and state agencies from using iPhones at work. However, Beijing came out on Wednesday to confirm it hadn't released an official regulations on the use of foreign devices.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $334.93 0.95% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $332.83 0.58% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $165.43 0.55% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $146.88 0.40% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $281.72 0.36% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $146.85 0.35% American Express Co. (AXP) $158.99 0.31% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $481.30 0.29% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $58.44 0.23% Visa Inc. (V) $247.78 0.19%

Dow Jones - Fallers

3M Co. (MMM) $106.14 -0.95% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.22 -0.76% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $258.36 -0.75% Intel Corp. (INTC) $38.58 -0.73% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $33.80 -0.70% Nike Inc. (NKE) $95.93 -0.38% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $175.76 -0.31% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.66 -0.29% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $83.45 -0.27% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $163.21 -0.23%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.69 4.40% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $554.81 2.32% Ford Motor Co. (F) $12.73 2.26% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $43.12 1.93% Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $111.68 1.89% Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $191.91 1.52% Centene Corp. (CNC) $68.04 1.52% Westrock Company (WRK) $35.49 1.40% FMC Corp. (FMC) $76.08 1.38% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $305.61 1.31%

S&P 500 - Fallers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.53 -4.12% Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $4.54 -3.40% Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $35.84 -3.37% Kohls Corp. (KSS) $22.73 -3.07% US Bancorp (USB) $35.88 -3.04% T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) $106.97 -3.00% Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $38.94 -2.90% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $15.02 -2.85% Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $39.59 -2.70% United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $46.33 -2.68%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $554.81 2.32% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $273.30 2.17% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $43.12 1.93% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $305.61 1.31% Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $142.86 1.15% Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $239.02 1.08% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $334.93 0.95% Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $418.33 0.94% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $70.97 0.94% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $458.40 0.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.53 -4.12% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.61 -3.66% Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $19.21 -1.44% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $108.25 -1.28% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.05 -1.22% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $44.65 -1.18% Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $201.55 -1.10% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $431.94 -1.07% Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $465.80 -0.92% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $4.24 -0.82%