US stocks rise after inflation, jobless claim reports

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks rose Thursday following mixed US inflation and employment data that left markets confident of imminent relief on Federal Reserve monetary policy.

US consumer inflation ticked higher in August, rising to 2.9 percent from 2.7 percent on a year-on-year basis in July.

Analysts described that reading as largely in line with expectations, adding that it was overshadowed by an uptick in unemployment claims.

About 35 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.0 percent at 45,938.94.

S&P 500, Nasdaq recover from losses as markets bet on September rate cut

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to 6,568.50, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.4 percent to 21,981.65.

All three indices were trading above closing record levels.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending September 6 were 263,000, an increase of 27,000 from the prior week and the highest level since October 2021, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The real news of the day sits with the weekly jobless claims,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management, who expects the Fed to lower interest rates by 75 basis points by the end of the year.

“That’s just more evidence that we’re seeing weakness in the labor market,” Hogan said. “So, clearly, the Fed’s full employment mandate is front and center.”