On Wednesday, US equity indexes experienced fluctuations but ultimately closed higher, while a majority of Treasury yields decreased. This follows the release of October's inflation data, which has maintained optimism for an interest-rate cut in December. The S&P 500 rose by 0.3% to settle at 6,002.1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.4% to reach 44,102.2, and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% to close at 19,307.6, with consumer discretionary and real estate sectors leading the gainers for the day. From the economic front, the US seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.2% in October, consistent with market expectations based on a survey conducted by Bloomberg.
This figures follow a similar 0.2% rise in September, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also rose by 0.3%, aligning with expectations, having previously increased by the same margin in September. The year-over-year CPI rate went up to 2.6% from 2.4%, while the core CPI held steady at 3.3%. As per the CME FedWatch tool, the odds of a 25 basis-point rate cut in December rose significantly to 82% by Wednesday afternoon, compared to 59% the previous day. In treasury yields, most saw declines, with the 10-year dropping by 1.9 basis points to 4.43%, and the two-year decreasing by 7.5 basis points to 4.27%. In the energy market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil saw a slight uptick, climbing 0.3% to $68.32 per barrel. In corporate news, Super Micro Computer ($SMCI) fell 4.7% during intraday trading, marking one of the day’s poorer performances within the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices.
This decline was prompted by the company's announcement regarding a delay in submitting its quarterly report for the period ending September 30, as it requires additional time to finalize its financial statements and disclosures..