Investing.com -- The S&P 500 jumped Wednesday, as a rebound in tech following softer-than-anticipated inflation data helped offset ongoing tariff uncertainty.
At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose by 1.2%, and the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%.
Tech led the broader market move higher, with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) leading to the upside with a 8% rally as investors bought the recent dip in the sector.
Sentiment on risk assets were buoyed by cooling inflation data that helped ease stagflation concerns.
U.S. consumer prices rose at a slower-than-anticipated pace in February, according to government data on Wednesday that will likely be closely monitored by Federal Reserve officials wary of the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s policies on inflation.
The headline consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation in the world’s largest economy, came in at 2.8% in the twelve months to February, cooling from 3.0% in January. Month-on-month, the gauge eased to 0.2% from 0.5%, figures from the Labor Department showed.
Economists had predicted readings of 2.9% and 0.3%, respectively.
Stripping out volatile items like food and fuel, so-called "core" CPI was 3.1% year-over-year and 0.2% on a monthly basis. Both of these decelerated from the prior month and were below estimates.
"For the Fed, this shouldn’t move the needle too much," Jefferies said in a recent note on Wednesday ahead of the Fed meeting next week. "They can continue to maintain a patient stance, while also standing ready to ease financial conditions should the labor market cool further."
Elsewhere, Trump’s expanded tariffs on steel and aluminum came into effect on Wednesday, marking the latest salvo in his drive to overhaul the U.S. trading relationship with both friends and foes alike.
The Commission said it would adopt two-part countermeasures in response to U.S. tariffs. The first step will see the Commission allow the suspension of previous retaliatory tariffs to lapse on April 1, a move that officials said would respond to "economic harm" done to 8 billion euros in EU steel and aluminum exports.
Brussels also vowed to place fresh tariffs on U.S. exports from next month as an answer to new American levies slapped on more than 18 billion euros in EU exports.
Trump hit back, saying he would respond to EU counter-tariffs and vowing to "absolutely" put tariffs on imported cars from the single market.
China’s foreign ministry has also said it would push to protect its interests and a top official in Japan warned that the trade taxes could imperil economic ties with Washington. Canada -- the largest supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S. -- hit out at Trump’s action, and said it would impose 25% reciprocal tariffs on roughly C$30 billion in imported U.S. goods starting from 12:01 AM on March 13.
Ontario later dropped the trade tax and Trump backed down from his warning.
Intel shares rise amid reported joint venture interest
TSMC pitched a deal to chipmakers Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) over forming a joint venture to operate Intel’s foundry business in the U.S., Reuters reported on Wednesday, with Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) also being approached.
Shares in Intel rose by more than 4% in early U.S. trading.
Under the proposal, which require approval from Trump, TSMC (NYSE:TSM) will operate Intel’s factories but will not own more than 50% of the JV, the Reuters report said, citing four sources with knowledge of the matter.
Talks are in an early stage after initial reports that the Trump administration approached TSMC to help rescue Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), which is struggling with weak sales and a loss-making foundry division. Intel was also seen earlier considering a spin-off of its foundry unit.
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) was up more than 1% after the Federal Trade Commission requested that its lawsuit - against the e-commerce giant - alleging the company misled consumers signing up for its Prime program - be delayed by two months amid staffing issues.
(Scott Kanowsky contributed to this report.)