US benchmark equity indexes exhibited a mixed performance on Wednesday as the US consumer inflation report indicated a higher-than-expected deceleration in February. The Nasdaq Composite saw an increase of 1.2%, reaching 17,648.5, while the S&P 500 grew by 0.5%, landing at 5,599.3. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a minor decline of 0.2%, ending at 41,350.9.
This trading session highlighted technology and communication sectors as the prominent gainers, whereas consumer staples faced the most significant losses. In the bond market, US Treasury yields saw a rise, with the 10-year rate edging up about 2.9 basis points to 4.3%, and the two-year rate experiencing an increase of 5.2 basis points to reach 4%.
Turning to commodities, April West Texas Intermediate crude oil saw a price increase of 2.2%, priced at $67.68 a barrel. From an economic perspective, the US consumer price index (CPI) recorded a sequential increase of 0.2% and an annual rise of 2.8% last month. This compared unfavorably to the expectations from a Bloomberg survey which anticipated increments of 0.3% and 2.9%, respectively. A spokesperson from BMO noted, "This was a well-behaved CPI inflation report that will raise expectations for an even tamer core [personal consumption expenditures] inflation print later this month.
This will calm market fears that consumer inflation is meaningfully heating up again and getting away from the [Federal Reserve's] goal even before new tariffs on goods imports hit." Regarding the housing market, mortgage applications in the US rose for the second consecutive week, driven by decreasing home financing rates that are enhancing refinancing activity, as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday. In the realm of company news, shares of Tesla ($TSLA) surged by 7.6%, despite a reported 11% decline in vehicle registrations in the US during January, according to Automotive News, which cited data from S&P Global Mobility.
Palantir Technologies ($PLTR) emerged as one of the top performers on the S&P 500, with shares rising by 7.2%. This uptick came a day after the company entered into a strategic partnership with Ondas ($ONDS) in their autonomous systems division to bolster the global expansion of its autonomous drone systems. Synchronoss Technologies ($SNCR) experienced a remarkable share increase of 40%, following the announcement of a profitable fourth quarter, with notable net revenue growth.
In contrast, Estee Lauder ($EL.US) shares depreciated by 4.5%. Adobe (ADBE) reported that Estee Lauder is leveraging its generative artificial intelligence platform, Firefly, in various digital marketing campaigns. In the precious metals market, gold managed to gain 0.8%, trading at $2,943.40 per troy ounce, while silver increased by 1.8%, reaching $33.75 per troy ounce..