Source: Sharecast
US wholesale prices edged 0.1% lower in August, following a 0.7% rise in July, defying expectations for a 0.3% increase and offering a potential reprieve for Federal Reserve policymakers ahead of next week's rate decision.
The Dow retreated 0.48% after hitting a record on Tuesday, with a slump in the share price of Apple weighing heavily on the index.
However, the Nasdaq edged 0.03% higher to a new closing high of 21,886.06, while the S&P 500 rose 0.30% to reach a new peak of 6,532.04, helped by a huge surge in Oracle's stock on the back of some bullish guidance.
"The PPI slip was modest — minus 0.1% — but in this theatre, nuance matters. What markets heard wasn’t just a tick lower in input prices; it was confirmation that the worst inflation ghost stories aren’t materializing. Producers aren’t shoving tariffs straight onto consumers; they’re eating some of it to stay competitive," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
"That’s not exactly a victory march — more like a poker player bleeding chips slowly to stay in the game — but it buys the Fed breathing room."
Wednesday's PPI release comes ahead of Thursday's consumer price index print, which was expected to show headline inflation rising to 2.9% annually. Together, the two reports will help shape expectations for the Fed’s September policy meeting, where markets are pricing in a potential pivot toward easing.
Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications surged 9.2% in the week ended 5 September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Last week's drop fully erased the drop from three consecutive weeks following a 15bps plunge in benchmark mortgage rates, which fell to their lowest in nearly a year, as a wave of disappointing labour market data pushed down yields on long-dated Treasury securities. Applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, shot up 12.2% week-on-week, while applications to purchase a home rose by 6.6%.
Market movers
Shares in Oracle Corporation soared 36% after the US tech giant said it was on track to secure contracts in its core cloud business worth in excess of $500bn. The enterprise software specialist said it had won four multi-billion dollar contracts with three customers in an "astonishing" first quarter, according to chief executive Safra Catz.
As a result, its remaining performance obligations – a key measure of booked revenues – increased 359% to $455bn. This, Catz said, "is likely to exceed half a trillion dollars" due to the expected signing up of "several additional multi-billion dollar customers".
The news helped shares of chipmaker Broadcom, while sector peer TSMC gained after impressing with its latest monthly sales stats.
Apple finished more than 3% lower as investors reacted negatively to the iPhone maker's latest product releases, which included the superthin iPhone Air and iPhone 17.
Dow Jones - Risers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $157.79 1.90%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.77 1.35%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $422.85 1.15%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $300.54 0.90%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $74.25 0.88%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $769.58 0.74%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $500.37 0.39%
3M Co. (MMM) $153.53 0.32%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $242.57 -3.76%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $226.79 -3.23%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $305.94 -2.11%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $100.41 -1.84%
Visa Inc. (V) $338.12 -1.71%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $115.79 -1.35%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $157.49 -1.32%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $23.83 -1.28%
Boeing Co. (BA) $227.52 -0.87%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $256.88 -0.86%
S&P 500 - Risers
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $328.33 35.95%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $369.57 9.77%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $6.14 9.06%
Apache Corp. (APA) $23.29 7.53%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $150.72 6.21%
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) $173.89 6.04%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $161.37 5.88%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $390.17 4.47%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $20.86 4.20%
Eaton Corporation plc (ETN) $362.25 4.03%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $387.78 -35.84%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $338.53 -6.42%
Gartner Inc. (IT) $232.59 -5.56%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $4.03 -5.41%
Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) $65.05 -3.77%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $242.57 -3.76%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $449.98 -3.76%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $59.19 -3.57%
Accenture Plc (ACN) $243.02 -3.52%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $16.04 -3.49%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $10.38 15.21%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $369.57 9.77%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $140.00 3.52%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $98.85 2.65%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $170.27 2.55%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $107.36 1.70%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $932.63 1.62%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.77 1.35%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $145.70 1.25%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $122.90 1.16%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $387.78 -35.84%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $338.53 -6.42%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $449.98 -3.76%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $230.33 -3.32%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $226.79 -3.23%
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $132.19 -3.13%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $65.64 -3.01%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $136.95 -2.87%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $95.50 -2.77%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $956.29 -2.34%