Wall Street ticks higher after inflation data clears the path for cuts to rates

Friday, August 9, 2024, Vol. 48, No. 32

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street ticked higher after the latest update on inflation came in almost exactly as economists expected.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Wednesday, coming off one of its best days of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite ended basically flat.

Treasury yields were steady after the U.S. government said consumers paid prices for food, gasoline and other things last month that were 2.9% higher than a year earlier.

The data should keep the Federal Reserve on track to cut its main interest rate in September.