Stocks rise as inflation drops below 5% level: Stock market news today

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday morning as investors digested data that showed inflation slowed to its slowest annual rate of increase in two years.

At the open, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.67%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.48% or more than 100 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.89%.

The highlight for Wall Street was economic data that showed headline inflation increased to 4.9%, lower than the forecasted 5%. April’s “core” consumer price index, which strips out the more volatile costs of food and gas prices, rose 5.5% over the last year, in line with economist expectations.

The report could add to expectations that the Fed will pause its rate-hiking campaign at its next meeting in June. Analysts at JPMorgan said Wednesday they expect the market to refocus on “recent Fedspeak which remains hawkish despite the Fed’s data dependent approach.” On Wednesday, New York Fed President John Williams noted that inflation remains “too high.”

Also on Tuesday, President Joe Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other top congressional leaders for a high-stakes talk on the nation’s debt limit. The conversation yielded little apparent progress, but both sides are scheduled to meet again on Friday.

Government bonds were lower. The yield on the 10-year yield traded down to 3.47%, compared to the two-year note yields fell to 3.96%. The dollar index edged down, while gold prices ticked upward.

In single-stock moves, shares of Airbnb (ABNB) sank over 13% after the booking platform recorded its best quarter yet but the company forecasted lower revenues in the next quarter amid a plan to make the platform feel affordable again.

Twilio Inc. (TWLO) shares tumbled more than 11% following the software company issuing a forecast for sales of $980 million to $990 million in its fiscal second quarter, below analysts’ forecasts of $1.05 billion.

Shares of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN) rose after the EV maker reported a quarterly loss that was narrow for a year ago, while maintaining its production outlook of 50,000 vehicles for the year.

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A Warren Buffett favorite, Occidental Petroleum, (OXY) said first-quarter earnings slipped from a year ago and adjusted profit missed analysts’ expectations as oil and gas sales declined due to reduced energy prices. The stock was down over 2%.

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST) rallied over 30% Wednesday after the artificial intelligence lending platform announced an upbeat revenue outlook for its fiscal second quarter.

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Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv

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