Wall Street was hit by energy and technology gains for more than two weeks

Sept 12 (Reuters) – Energy and technology stocks lifted U.S. stock indexes to their highest level in more than two weeks on Monday, ahead of a key inflation outlook that could determine the pace of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The three major indexes have gained for four straight sessions as investors took advantage of a sharp decline in prices since mid-August.

All eyes will be on Tuesday’s consumer price data for signs that price pressures are easing. Core inflation is expected to increase at a pace of 8.1% in August, compared to 8.5% in July.

Core CPI, which strips out variables such as energy and food, is expected to rise to 6.1% from 5.9% last month.

A recent retreat in commodity prices, particularly oil, has boosted hopes that the worst of the inflationary pressures are over, and the New York Fed’s monthly consumer confidence survey showed on Monday that US consumers expect inflation over the next 12 months to slip further in August. Read more

“We could see our headline (inflation) number flat, maybe even negative. It’s a belief that the equity market will blink when the Fed faces weak economic data because of the pace they’re operating from,” said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, earlier this year. .

“I don’t think they’re going to dial back any time soon … The current issue is that even with a good inflation number, it’s still going to be well above the Fed’s 2% target.”

Policymakers played down the importance of any single data point last week, and emphasized their commitment to keeping rates on hold until there is a sustained decline in inflation, which is hovering at 40-year highs. Read more

Money markets are on a 91% chance of a third straight 75 basis point hike by the US central bank on September 21st.

At 11:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was up 221.67 points, or 0.69%, at 32,373.38, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was up 36.68 points, or 0.90%, at 4,104.04 and the Nasdaq, and the Nasdaq , and increased by 0.69%. Composite (.IXIC) was up 112.19 points, or 0.93%, at 12,224.49.

Analysts also pointed out that the recent rally in the S&P 500 came over the past two weeks after the benchmark index tested and held the 3,900 level as a major technical support level.

All S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by a 2.2% jump in energy stocks ( .SPNY ). Oil prices rose as supply concerns rose amid uncertainty over Iran’s nuclear talks.

Level-sensitive technology and growth stocks such as Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ), Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ), Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) and Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) added between 0.7% and 3%. . The biggest gains for the S&P 500 (.SPX) and the Nasdaq (.IXIC).

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. ( BMI.N ) gained 5.5% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s oral treatment for adults with plaque psoriasis.

Shares of Amgen ( AMGN.O ), which makes the psoriasis drug Otezla, fell 3.5 percent.

Carvana Co ( CVNA.N ) jumped 8.2 percent as Piper Sandler upgraded the online used car retailer’s stock to “overweight” from “neutral,” saying prices were too low.

Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) fell 1.7% after the social media company said there was no breach of an agreement to pay for referrals and that Elon Musk’s attempts to terminate the $44 billion deal were invalid. Read more

Advancing decliners by a 4.14-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.81-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index hit 11 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 36 new lows.

Reporting by Devik Jain and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Maju Samuel

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