S&P 500 rose slightly as investors awaited inflation report

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose slightly on Wednesday as investors awaited a big report on inflation in the United States.

The broad market index rose 0.2%, reaching a new record level and heading towards achieving gains for the seventh day in a row. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5%, also reaching its highest level ever. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained behind the records, hovering around the flat line.

According to CNBC, during the previous days, Wall Street recorded new record levels for the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Standard & Poor’s 500, as US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that keeping interest rates high for a very long period may hinder economic growth. The S&P 500 rose 0.07%, while the Nasdaq added 0.14%. The 30-stock Dow Jones index fell 52.82 points, or 0.13%.

“Reducing policy restrictions too late or too little could unjustifiably dampen economic activity and employment,” said Powell, who was speaking before the Senate Banking Committee as part of his semiannual address to Congress on Tuesday. He continues his testimony Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee. Powell added: “More good data would strengthen our confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards 2%.”

Wednesday will be a quiet day for economic data, with the final reading of May wholesale inventories scheduled before the June CPI reading on Thursday. This will be followed by the release of the June Producer Price Index on Friday.

Many view the upcoming CPI reading as a major test of the market and interest rate cut expectations.

“If we get a cooler CPI reading this week, if we get a cooler PPI reading, September will be priced as a lock,” SoFi Chief Investment Strategy Officer Liz Young Thomas told CNBC on Tuesday. With the caveat that at some point, the coldest data may become too cold.

The S&P 500 opened higher on Wednesday, advancing for the seventh straight session.

The broad market index rose 0.2% while the Nasdaq Composite also set its own record after gaining 0.4%, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovering near the flat line.

Electric car maker Tesla gained nearly 1% after Goldman Sachs raised the company’s stock price target by $73 to $248 per share on better-than-expected deliveries in the second quarter. Tesla has achieved gains for 10 consecutive days.

Shares of Taiwan’s TSMC, which makes semiconductor chips for artificial intelligence giants including Nvidia and Apple, rose 2%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Corporation announced revenues in the period from April to June of this year amounting to 673.51 billion Taiwan dollars, compared to 654.27 billion Taiwan dollars expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG, according to Reuters.

The company recorded revenues of NT$207.87 billion in June 2024 alone, representing a 32.9% increase from this time last year.