US: Stocks hold steady after wholesale prices jump

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks shook off early losses to finish essentially flat on Thursday as markets digested disappointing inflation data that complicates expectations for lower Federal Reserve interest rates.

The producer price index rose 0.9 per cent on a month-on-month basis, much greater than analysts expected following benign consumer pricing data earlier this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down less than 0.1 per cent at 44,911.26.

The broad-based S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1 per cent to 6,468.54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was virtually unchanged at 21,710.67.

Markets have been monitoring inflation in light of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with Tuesday’s consumer price report adding to confidence the Fed will lower rates in September.

But after Thursday’s report, a potential half-point interest rate cut is probably “off the table,” said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital Management.

The report “suggests that companies are currently bearing the brunt of tariffs,” Ablin said. “We would expect that companies will start to pass these costs along.”

Among individual companies, Intel surged 7.4 per cent following a Bloomberg News report that Trump is considering an investment in the beleaguered chip company in exchange for a government stake.

Such a deal would represent Trump’s latest departure from the US government’s traditional laissez-faire posture towards business.

Deere & Co sank 6.8 per cent after it reported a drop in profits and lowered the ceiling of its full-year earnings range. AFP