Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were rising after another inflation gauge confirmed that prices are cooling, giving the Federal Reserve wiggle room when it comes to ending interest rate increases.
At 10:57 ET (14:57 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44 points or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the NASDAQ Composite rose 1%.
Another inflation reading comes in cooler than forecast
June’s producer price index rose 0.1% for the month, falling short of expectations. Core PPI, which excludes food and fuel, also rose 0.1%, meeting expectations. The data come after Wednesday’s consumer price index for June, which also came in cooler than expected.
Investors look to next Fed meeting
Futures traders expect the Fed to raise rates by a quarter of a percentage point when it meets later this month, but then the outlook is uncertain. While Fed officials have said in recent weeks that it will continue to raise rates this year, evidence that inflation is coming down could convince policymakers that they have raised enough.
A complicating factor is a tight labor market. New unemployment claims for last week unexpectedly fell to 237,000, which is below expectations and below the week before.
Earnings season starts
Amid the optimistic economic data, investors are looking to the second quarter earnings season to guide another rally in stocks. After Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) and PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) today, the big banks start to roll out their reports on Friday.
Delta reported its highest quarterly profit and revenue ever on a surge in travel demand and a 22% drop in fuel costs. It raised its 2023 adjusted profit forecast to $6 to $7 a share, which is higher than the forecast it gave in June. Shares rose 0.7%.
PepsiCo shares rose 0.7% after the soft drink and snack maker beat expectations. Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) fell 1% after saying it plans to buy Denbury (NYSE:DEN), a company that does carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery operations, for $4.9 billion.