US stocks rise after tepid inflation data

New York: Wall Street stocks rose early Thursday after tepid US inflation data suggested the Federal Reserve can stick with a more market-friendly tempo of lifting interest rates.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent to 26,125.23.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to 2,902.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.9 percent to 8,024.48.

The Consumer Price Index, which tracks costs for household goods and services, rose 0.2 percent in August, which matched analyst forecasts and was the same as the increase recorded in July.

But the index rose only a token 0.1 percent when volatile food and fuel prices were excluded, half the increase economists were expecting, while an annual measure retreated from recent records.

The inflation report had been heavily anticipated after the August US jobs report showed an unexpectedly strong jump in hourly pay.

Worries that the Fed will need to hasten its pace of interest rate hikes have sparked occasional selling in US stocks throughout 2018.

[source_without_link]AFP[/source_without_link]