Investing.com — The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above the 40,000 level on Wednesday as data pointing to a further slowdown in inflation is expected to move the Federal Reserve a step closer to the start of its rate-cutting cycle next month.
At 4:00 PM ET (20:00 GMT), it traded 242 points, or 0.6%, higher to close at 40,008.12. The price rose 0.3% and remained flat.
CPI data adds to evidence of cooling inflation
The US slowed to 2.9% from 3.0% in June, while economists estimated 3%.
Excluding more volatile items such as food and fuel, the ‘core’ rose 3.2% in the 12 months to July, below expectations of 3.3%.
The report comes just a day after July’s cooler-than-expected producer price index, which added to signs that Fed policy is working to curb inflation.
“The Fed has been desperate for signs of the impact of its rate hikes on demand and inflation, and since May they have finally started to see that,” Jefferies said in a Wednesday note.
Intel sells Arm stake; Google in legal spotlight; Kellanova has deal fever
Intel (NASDAQ:) fell more than 2% in the second quarter on sales of its 1.18 million-share stake in British chip company Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:), a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday.
The chipmaker said earlier this month it would cut more than 15% of its workforce and suspend its dividend amid a slump in spending on traditional data center semiconductors and a shift to AI chips.
Kellanova (NYSE:) rose nearly 8% after the packaged food maker agreed to be acquired by chocolate giant Mars for a price of $83.50.
Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:) fell 2% on a Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources, that the US Department of Justice is reportedly considering plans to challenge Google’s dominance in online search control, including a split.
In terms of revenue, Cardinal health Inc (NYSE:) climbed nearly 4% after the healthcare company raised its full-year guidance after fiscal fourth-quarter results beat analyst estimates.
(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
