FX.co ★ US Stocks Inch Higher After Soft CPI

US equity markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday after softer inflation data effectively closed the door on a Federal Reserve rate hike this month. The S&P 500 edged up, and the Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.7%, while the Dow pared steep earlier losses to trade only marginally below unchanged.

Both headline and core inflation eased, helping offset the impact of another upswing in energy prices as the US and Iran continued to exchange strikes. Chipmakers rebounded from Monday’s selloff: Micron and SanDisk each gained about 5%, mirroring strength in major memory producers, and Nvidia added 1%.

In contrast, the largest US banks underperformed. JPMorgan fell 2.5% despite reporting record quarterly profit, and Bank of America slipped 1% even as it beat earnings expectations. Wells Fargo also declined 2% after what was broadly viewed as a solid earnings beat. Bucking the trend, Goldman Sachs rallied 4% on strong quarterly results.