Kamal Ghorui
Wall Street traded mixed on Wednesday as another stronger-than-expected inflation report weighed on investor sentiment while a rebound in technology stocks helped limit losses, AP reported.The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent in early trade, remaining close to the record high touched earlier this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 235 points, or 0.5 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite edged 0.2 per cent higher.Technology shares recovered after a weak previous session, with Micron Technology rising 4.3 per cent and Nvidia gaining 2.4 per cent.Nvidia’s rise came after reports that CEO Jensen Huang had been invited to join US President Donald Trump on his China visit, where discussions could include shipments of Nvidia’s AI chips to China.Investor sentiment also received support after Japan’s SoftBank Group reported a nearly five-fold jump in annual profit, helped by gains from artificial intelligence investments.However, broader market sentiment remained cautious after fresh inflation data added to concerns over rising prices and interest rates.A report released on Wednesday showed US wholesale inflation accelerated more sharply than expected in April, following Tuesday’s data that showed consumer inflation rising at its fastest pace in more than three years.“Corporate earnings and AI momentum are acting as the market’s primary shock absorbers, but the road is getting significantly rougher,” Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said.Oil prices remained elevated amid the Iran conflict, although Brent crude slipped 0.2 per cent to USD 107.55 per barrel after sharp gains earlier in the week.The rise in oil prices has reduced expectations of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve this year, with markets increasingly pricing in the possibility of rates remaining higher for longer.The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note edged up to 4.47 per cent from 4.46 per cent on Tuesday.In global markets, European indices traded mixed, while Asian markets ended mostly higher. South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.6 per cent after falling sharply in the previous session.
