Stocks Little Changed Amid Cooling Inflation Data



Stocks traded near the flatline Tuesday after the producer price index, the first of two major inflation reports this week, came in lighter than forecast.

The Dow Jones Industrials let go of gains and fell 71.49 points to 42,225.63

The S&P 500 Index lost 18.98 points to 5,817.24.

The NASDAQ faltered 79.54 points to 19,008.83.

Big tech stocks wavered Tuesday, putting pressure on the S&P 500 and NASDAQ. Nvidia and Meta Platforms lost around 2% each, while Alphabet and Microsoft pulled back 0.1% each. Meanwhile, Tesla added 1% and Palantir rose around 2%.

The producer price index, which measures wholesale inflation, increased just 0.2% in December, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated a 0.4% rise. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was flat.

Investors are now looking toward Wednesday’s consumer price index report for insights on the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rate policy.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury regained lost territory, placing yields back to Monday’s 4.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices tailed off $1.33 to $77.49 U.S. a barrel.

Prices for gold recovered $6.60 an ounce to $2,685.20 U.S.