Wall Street’s Major Indexes Close with Little Change

Inflation Data Causes Concern for Investors

Wall Street’s major indexes closed on Thursday with little change, losing much of their early gains following the release of inflation data at a time when investors are worried about the long-term outlook for the US economy and whether there is more room for growth. Stocks are rising.

The data showed both inflation and core inflation rising 0.2% in July, with the inflation rate registering a 3.2% annual increase and core inflation 4.7%, according to Reuters.

Market Reaction and Volatility

During the first hour of trading, the three benchmark indexes rose more than 1% as traders bet that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) would end monetary tightening in 2023 and start cutting interest rates early next year.

Stock prices started to decline in the late morning and remained very volatile in the afternoon.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.34 points, or 0.03%, to 4469.05 points, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 16.39 points, or 0.12%, to 13739.06 points, according to preliminary data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 50.28 points, or 0.15%, to 35,173.64.