US stocks close higher on in-line inflation data

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by inflation slowing in line with expectations, alongside a rebound in the technology sector, particularly AI-related companies, while oil prices remained stable.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 53,770 points.

The broader S&P 500 rose 0.26%, or 20 points, to 7,748 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.54%, or 143 points, to 26,588 points.

The STOXX Europe 600 ended the session down 0.16% at 659 points.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.10% to 10,833 points, while Germany’s DAX declined 0.23% to 26,331 points and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.46% to 8,674 points.

After returning from a public holiday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.83% to 67,524 points, while the broader TOPIX gained 0.94% to 4,139 points.

On the oil front, Brent crude futures for October delivery settled unchanged at $88.98 per barrel.

Meanwhile, US Nymex crude futures for September delivery were unchanged at $83.27 per barrel.

As for gold, December gold futures rose 0.59%, or $26.40, to $4,467.50 per ounce.

US inflation data fueled investors’ hopes that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged at its September meeting, while earnings from cloud computing companies boosted optimism over continued demand for AI infrastructure.