US stocks inched higher by mid-morning trading on Tuesday as a key inflation report showed prices largely holding steady ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final 2023 policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) edged up roughly 0.3%, or nearly 100 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) traded flat. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up about 0.2% after all three major gauges closed Monday at their highest levels since early 2022.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed prices ticked up slightly at 0.1% over last month and 3.1% over the prior year in November, as Yahoo Finance’s Alexandra Canal reported.
Investors are widely expecting a pause to rate hikes at the end of the central bank’s two-day meeting, which starts Tuesday. But traders are easing back on their bets on a rate cut in March, according to CME FedWatch data.
Read more: What the Fed rate-hike pause means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
While consumer inflation is expected to remain flat for the second straight month, the “core” reading — which excludes food and energy prices — could prove stickier. That would likely prompt investors to rethink when the Fed might start lowering rates.
Following the report, US bond yields retreated slightly, with 10-year Treasury yields (^TNX) down roughly 2 basis points to trade near 4.22%.
In individual stocks, Oracle (ORCL) shares sank more than 10% after the software giant’s second quarter sales fell short of estimates.
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