A rally in the world's largest technology companies spurred a stock-market rebound on Wednesday, as investors processed faster-than-expected inflation data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%, the S&P 500 rose by 1.1% and the Nasdaq 100 surged 2.2%.
A collective rise in the "Magnificent Seven" megacap stocks further boosted the market by 2.6%. and the Russell 2000 Index both posted a 0.3% increase. International Business Machines Corp. hit an all-time high, while OpenAI began discussions to raise $6.5 billion, aiming for a company valuation of $150 billion.
The dollar saw a slight decline, while oil prices rose due to Hurricane Francine disrupting key oil production zones in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
In economic news, the latest core consumer price index, excluding food and energy, showed a 0.3% increase from July, the largest jump in four months, with an annual rise of 3.2%. The figures bolstered expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut at its meeting next week.
In corporate highlights, Children’s Place Inc. soared by 86% after reporting an unexpected adjusted profit for the second quarter, while Petco Health & Wellness Co. rose 33%, signaling turnaround progress. GameStop Corp., however, tumbled by 12% as its sales figures fell below expectations.
Looking ahead, several key events are slated for the week, including Japan's producer price index data and the European Central Bank's rate decision on Thursday, followed by U.S. initial jobless claims, Eurozone industrial production, and U. Michigan's consumer sentiment survey later in the week.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin remained relatively unchanged at $57,581.74, while Ether declined by 1.6% to $2,340.87. In the bond markets, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose by one basis point to 3.66%, Germany's 10-year yield fell by two basis points to 2.11%, and the UK’s 10-year yield dropped by six basis points to 3.76%.
Commodities saw some fluctuations, with West Texas Intermediate crude rising by 2.1% to $67.12 per barrel. Spot gold declined by 0.2%, trading at $2,512.59 an ounce.