S&P 500 hits record high as inflationary pressures ease

A trader monitors US stocks on multiple screens at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

US stocks rose in early trading on Wednesday amid fresh signs of easing inflationary pressures, paving the way for the Federal Reserve to resume interest rate cuts next week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 0.14%, or 63 points, to 45,648 at 4:38 p.m. Makka time.

The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.48%, or 31 points, to 6,543, after touching a new record high of 6,550.

The Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.35%, or 71 points, to 21,950.

This came after official data showed the producer price index (PPI) fell 0.10% month-on-month (MoM) in August after rising 0.70% the previous month.

The annual rate of producer price inflation also slowed to 2.6% from 3.1% in July, supporting the possibility of the Federal Reserve continuing to cut interest rates at its meeting scheduled for September 16-17.

The US technology sector received a boost from a 35.51% rise in Oracle shares to $327.27, after the cloud computing company reported positive earnings and a massive order backlog that bolsters its future growth prospects.