US markets end higher on Wednesday

12 Sep 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday with Nasdaq settling over 265 points gain. Markets moved sharply lower early in the session on Wednesday but showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading day. The early sell-off on markets came following the release of the Labor Department's closely watched report on consumer price inflation in the month of August. The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in August, matching the uptick seen in July as well as street estimates. Meanwhile, core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, climbed by 0.3 percent in August after rising by 0.2 percent in July. Street had expected core prices to rise by another 0.2 percent.

Markets moved sharply lower as the data seemingly reduced the chances of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 50 basis points next week. However, selling pressure waned dramatically over the course session as the Fed is still expected to continue lowering interest rates in the coming months. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks helped lead the turnaround on Wall Street, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 4.9 percent. Market leader and AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) turned in one of the sector's best performances, soaring by 8.0 percent. Semiconductor stocks helped lead the turnaround on Wall Street, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 4.9 percent. Market leader and AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) turned in one of the sector's best performances, soaring by 8.0 percent.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 124.75 points or 0.31 percent to 40,861.71, Nasdaq jumped 369.65 points or 2.17 percent to 17,395.53 and S&P 500 was up by 58.61 points or 1.07 percent to 5,554.13.