US stocks regained momentum on Wednesday, as investors assessed hotter-than-expected inflation data and prepared for more on Thursday while looking to Federal Reserve minutes for a window into policymakers’ thinking on interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) finished up 0.2%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) put on roughly 0.7%, building on Tuesday’s win.
US wholesale prices rose last month at the fastest pace since April, with the producer price index for September climbing 2.2% from a year earlier, compared with the 1.6% gain expected.
The PPI reading suggests that inflationary pressures remain despite the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes. The next read on inflation will come in Thursday’s look at consumer prices, which are expected to have slowed slightly from last month.
Minutes from the central bank’s last meeting…
