Stock market today: Indexes mixed as traders digest wholesale inflation and await Powell's remarks
- Indexes wavered Thursday as traders received wholesale inflation data.
- The producer price index showed prices rising 0.2% last month as expected.
Indexes traded mixed on Thursday as traders assessed new inflation data and waited for remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were nearly flat, while the Nasdaq inched higher. Bond yields dipped as another tame inflation report opened the door further for another rate cut in December. The 10-year Treasury yield dipped three basis points to 4.418%.
The producer price index showed whole sale prices rose 0.2% in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.
The reading was in line with expectations but showed inflation remains somewhat sticky as the yearly increase came in at 2.4%.
Core PPI, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in the month and 3.1% year-over-year.
Investors will tune into Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at 3 p.m. ET Thursday.
His comment will follow the Fed's 25 basis point interest rate cut last week, with traders listening for clues about what the path may look like after this year.
Donald Trump's election win has stoked fears that inflation could rise again under his proposed policies, such as sweeping tariffs and a crackdown on immigration, which could shake the Fed from its easing path, economists say.
Traders expect the central bank to cut another 25 basis points at its December meeting before pausing in January, according to CME FedWatch tool.
Meanwhile, data on Thursday showed weekly jobless claims dropped to their lowest since May, falling to 217,000 last week, a 4,000 decline from the week prior.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 5,984.74, down 0.01%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 43,984.72, up 0.06% (+26.53 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 19,245.86, up 0.08%
Here's what else is going on:
- Nvidia stock has 25% upside as it approaches an iPhone moment with its Blackwell chip, analyst says.
- Robinhood adds tokens to its platform as crypto enthusiasm surges following the election.
- Stock exposure hits 11-year high as investors expect US equities to be the top-performing asset in 2025, BofA survey says.
- Russia's economy is heading toward a fate worse than recession, pro-Kremlin economists say.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- Oil futures rose. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $69.27 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.1% to $73.11 a barrel.
- Gold fell 0.7% to $2,569.10 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield dipped three basis points to 4.418%.
- Bitcoin edged up to $91,466.