Stocks made modest gains in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday, nudging the market closer to the record high set in late March.
The S&P 500 inched up by 0.1%, inching within about 0.5% of its late March record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 83 points, or 0.2%, to 39,515 as of 10:09 a.m. Eastern, while the Nasdaq composite also rose by 0.2%.
Some “meme” stocks, including GameStop and AMC Entertainment, surged once again, reminiscent of the social media-fueled frenzy from three years ago.
An inflation update revealed persistent high prices at the wholesale level, suggesting that many price changes have yet to be passed on to consumers. The latest producer price index for April showed a sharp rise in inflation, albeit with a revision lower for the March reading. This report is the first of two key inflation updates this week closely watched by Wall Street.
Bond yields slightly declined, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury slipping to 4.46% from 4.49% late Monday.
The market faces a significant test on Wednesday with the U.S. releasing its monthly update on consumer prices. Wall Street hopes for a moderation in inflation, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to consider interest rate cuts. Investors have been scaling back their expectations for the pace and frequency of interest rate cuts this year, as inflation rates remain relatively stable and the economy shows resilience.
Earnings have been a bright spot, supporting gains in major indexes in May after a tough April. Most companies in the S&P 500 have reported their latest results, showing an overall 5% increase in earnings.
Stocks were mostly higher in Europe and Asia, though Chinese markets slipped following U.S. plans to increase tariffs on imports from China.
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