U.S. Mostly Higher Ahead Of Key Inflation Data

Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, with the major averages all moving to the upside after ending the previous session narrowly mixed. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have once again reached new record intraday highs.

Currently, the Nasdaq is up 79.13 points or 0.4 percent at 18,508.42, the S&P 500 is up 17.68 points or 0.3 percent at 5,594.66 and the Dow is up 59.83 points or 0.2 percent at 39,351.80.

The advance on Wall Street partly reflects strength among tech stocks after Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) reported its second quarter sales surged much more than expected.

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor, which supplies chips for AI giants like Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL), are jumping by 2.7 percent.

Overall trading activity remains somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of closely watched consumer price inflation data on Thursday.

Economists expect the annual rate of consumer price growth to slow to 3.1 percent in June from 3.3 percent in May, while the annual rate of core consumer price growth is expected to hold at 3.4 percent.

During congressional testimony, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said more “good data” would strengthen the central bank’s confidence inflation is moving sustainably toward its 2 percent target and lead to a potential interest rate cut.

Powell also warned of the risk that leaving interest rates at an elevated level for too long could jeopardize economic growth.

“In light of the progress made both in lowering inflation and in cooling the labor market over the past two years, elevated inflation is not the only risk we face,” he said. “Reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment.”

Sector News

Gold stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.7 percent to its best intraday level in well over a month.

The rally by gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery climbing $15.20 to $2,383.10 an ounce.

Considerable strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index has reached a new record intraday high.

Pharmaceutical and brokerage stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction ahead of tomorrow’s inflation data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.295 percent.

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