Stocks climb for third straight day as investors await inflation data
U.S. stocks turned positive in the afternoon session, after trading lower most of the day. Belpointe chief strategist David Nelson discusses what’s affecting the price swings in the markets.
Stocks rallied for a third consecutive day Tuesday after swinging between gains and losses, as traders anxiously waited for a new report on U.S. inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 39.18 points, or 0.16%, to 24,640.45. The S&P 500 added 6.94 points, or 0.26%, to 2,662.94. The Nasdaq Composite was up 31.55 points, or 0.45%, at 7,013.51.
Stocks were lower in midday trading, but the market turned higher while President Trump hosted a White House meeting with lawmakers to discuss trade and other issues. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s “fear gauge” and a measure of expected market swings, slipped below 25 after hitting a 52-week high of around 50 last week.
Wall Street has suffered from heightened volatility amid concerns over rising inflation and the possibility that the Federal Reserve will accelerate its interest rate hikes this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release its latest reading on consumer prices Wednesday, a key update on inflation. Stronger wage growth in January sparked fears of a sudden increase in inflation, although economists expect prices to rise later in the year. Economists project that core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 1.7% in January versus year-over-year growth of 1.8% in December, according Bloomberg.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note eased slightly, trading around 2.828% after hitting a four-year high of almost 2.9% on Monday.
Oil prices settled 10 cents lower at $59.19 a barrel.
The S&P 500 was led higher by Under Armour (NYSE:UAA), which surged 17% after reporting stronger quarterly sales than expected.
Shares of distributor AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC) also climbed, rising more than 9%, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) approached the company about a takeover.