Stock indexes mixed on Wall Street after inflation report

Stock indexes on Wall Street are mixed Friday after the government’s latest reading on consumer prices showed inflation is at a four-decade high. 

The S&P 500 was up 0.3% as of 11:34 a.m. Eastern. The benchmark index, which had been up 0.8% in the early going, is still on track for its biggest weekly gain since February. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite slipped less than 0.1%. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks fell 0.8%. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier. Surging costs for food, energy, housing and other items have left Americans enduring their highest annual inflation rate since 1982. Core prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose 4.9% year over year. 

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Those figures were right in line with the market’s expectations. 

“Many have felt the effects of inflation in their day-to-day, so this likely isn’t a huge shocker to the market,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director, investment strategy at E-Trade.

Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell has suggested the central bank could move more quickly to pare back, or taper, the amount of bonds it’s been purchasing each month to keep long-term interest rates low. 

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Analysts say the elevated inflation figures ramp up the pressure on the Fed to follow through on Powell’s comments. Many investors also expect the Fed to start raising interest rates from current ultra-low levels starting in the middle of next year.

“The inflation print from this morning will reinforce the Fed’s resolve to accelerate tapering. With the strength in the economic recovery, it is time to take the crutches away,” said Anu Gaggar, global investment strategist for Commonwealth Financial Network. 

Stocks in the S&P 500 were about evenly split between gainers and decliners. Solid gains in technology stocks outweighed losses elsewhere in the market. Business software maker Oracle surged 14.8% after reporting strong quarterly results. Microsoft rose 1.7%.

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Makers and sellers of household goods also helped lift the S&P 500. Costco climbed 5.6%, while Coca-Cola rose 1.7%. 

Losses by a mix of retailers, hotel operators and other companies that rely on consumer spending kept the market’s gains in check. Amazon.com fell 1.6%, Best Buy dropped 1.9% and MGM Resorts International slipped 0.9%. 

The S&P 500 has now recovered most of the losses incurred after the discovery of the omicron variant of COVID-19 was announced last month. It’s also close to the all-time high set on Nov. 18. 

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.45% from 1.51% just before the inflation report came out. The yield on the two-year note dropped to 0.64%.