US stocks end volatile session mixed after inflation cools by less than expected

• US stocks finish Tuesday's choppy session on a mixed note.
• January headline inflation cooled to 6.2% but the rate was higher than anticipated.

US stocks ended mixed Tuesday as investors fretted about how the Federal Reserve will interpret the January inflation report that showed continued upward pressure on monthly prices.

The S&P 500 escaped the seesaw session with its third straight win but the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped, with Coca-Cola among the day's decliners.

The Labor Department's first CPI report of 2023 showed the headline rate eased to 6.4% year over year from December but the reading was slightly higher than the 6.2% consensus estimate from Bloomberg.

Price increases for energy and food and rent pushed up the monthly print to 0.5%. Core CPI, which strips out energy and food prices, rose 0.4% for the month.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,136.19, down 0.03%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,089.79, down 0.46% (156.14 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 11,960.15, 0.57%

"The good news on the CPI print is that inflation continued to ease as the year-over-year inflation rate has dropped for 7 straight months," said Eric Sterner, chief investment officer at Apollon Wealth Management, wrote in a note.

"The bad news is inflation is still very elevated compared to normal levels. The Fed will need to remain hawkish and raise rates most likely at least two (possibly three) more times," he said. "The journey to get to normal inflation rates will be a bumpy ride as energy and commodity prices should rebound with China dropping its zero COVID policies."

Investors have largely been cutting down their expectations for the Fed to begin cutting rates later this year. A ninth straight rate hike is likely to arrive in March.

Here's what else is happening today:

• Investors aren't convinced that the stock market rally can last, Bank of America survey shows.
• 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry reveals new bets on Alibaba, MGM, and JD.com.
• Traders betting against Tesla have lost $7.6 billion over the past month as the stock has surged.
• Get defensive with stocks and ditch them for bonds with a recession coming, says JPMorgan's top strategist Marko Kolanovic.
• Wells Fargo says the worst is over for stocks, but the bull market may be "stuck in traffic."
• Natural gas prices fall to 25-month low as a key Texas LNG facility looks to restart exports.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude lost 1.2% to $79.17 per barrel in Tuesday's session. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.1% to $85.64.
• Gold rose by 0.1% to $1,865.30 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to a six-week high, reaching 3.766%.
• Bitcoin gained 2.7% to $22,204.30.