At the beginning of the US session on Tuesday, the stock market opened with a big increase, as investors reacted to stronger-than-expected US inflation data. On an annualized basis, the consumer price index rose by 3.2% in February, exceeding forecasts that inflation would remain at the January level of 3.1%. Core inflation, excluding volatile food and fuel prices, fell from 3.9% to 3.8%. At the same time, the indicator was still slightly higher than the forecast of 3.7%. On a monthly basis, the overall consumer price index increased by 0.4% in February, in line with forecasts and exceeding the growth in January, which was 0.3%. The benchmark index also showed an increase of 0.4%, which coincided with the previous month's figures and turned out to be slightly higher than expectations of 0.3%. Such data indicate a potential continuation of inflationary trends, which may complicate the Federal Reserve's plans to lower interest rates this year. Especially in light of warnings from a number of Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, about the impact of inflation on monetary policy in 2024. Thus, the main Wall Street indices showed mixed dynamics: the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly decreased by 0.1%. Oracle was one of the best early bidders, rising almost 13% after announcing that it exceeded quarterly profit expectations due to increased demand for artificial intelligence products. Oracle also announced an upcoming joint statement with Nvidia, focusing on the increasing demand for cloud technologies for the AI industry. The positive trend in Oracle shares had an impact on other major technology companies, among which Nvidia rose by 1.8%, and Microsoft and Alphabet Inc – by 1.1% and 0.4%, respectively.
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