Stocks mostly edge higher, yields fall in wake of US inflation data
NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Wall Street indexes were mostly higher while Treasury yields fell on Friday as investors digested cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data for January that some saw as underpinning hopes for rate cuts.
The U.S. dollar was last slightly higher against other currencies.
The report showed the U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 2.4% on a yearly basis, slightly below the estimated 2.5% increase, according to economists polled by Reuters. The news boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will deliver at least two rate cuts this year.
The data follows a surprisingly strong U.S. employment report on Wednesday.
The Fed last month left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range.
“Given the Fed’s dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment, we believe inflationary concerns could play a larger role than previously expected in determining the path of monetary policy this year,” said Josh Jamner, senior investment strategy analyst at Clearbridge Investments in New York.
On Wall Street, the Dow and S&P 500 were higher but the Nasdaq was down slightly, with concerns remaining about artificial intelligence-driven disruption.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.36 points, or 0.10%, to 49,501.34, the S&P 500 rose 9.72 points, or 0.14%, to 6,842.48 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 17.64 points, or 0.08%, to 22,579.50.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.27 points, or 0.03%, to 1,045.49.The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.03%.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.7 basis points to 4.067%, from 4.104% late on Thursday.
In currencies, the dollar edged higher. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.05% to 96.98, with the euro down 0.06% at $1.1862.
Bitcoin was sharply higher, gaining 4.16%.
Investors also digested a Financial Times report that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to scale back some tariffs on steel and aluminium goods, citing people familiar with the matter. Aluminium prices sank to a one-week low on Friday.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Suzanne McGee; Editing by Kim Coghill, Amanda Cooper, Mark Potter and Nick Zieminski)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
