S&P 500 rises after tame inflation data; AI-related shares jump

The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday on the back of a tame U.S. inflation report and tech gains led by artificial intelligence plays CoreWeave and Super Micro Computer.

The broad market index climbed 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded around the flatline.

July’s consumer price index came in as expected, with headline rising 0.1% on the month and the annual inflation rate landing at 3.4%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, advanced 0.2% last month and 2.5% on the year. The annual rate for both headline and core CPI marked a slight decrease from June.

This comes as the Federal Reserve has been laser focused on the impact higher pricing pressures are having on the U.S. consumer, with three dissenters at the last meeting voting to raise rates. Those concerns have yet to abate, with U.S. oil prices pushing above $83 a barrel Wednesday, as hopes of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz dwindle.

However, odds that the Fed will leave its rates unchanged next month increased following the report. Fed funds futures trading is now pricing in a roughly 62% chance that the central bank will keep its benchmark ​rate in its current range of 3.50% ​to 3.75%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That’s up from more than 45% a week ago.