(MENAFN– ecpulse)
U.S shares closed in green territories with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closing two points from a record, as data showed inflation has failed to gain a toehold and earnings from Comcast Corp. to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. topped estimates.
In fact toaday a report showed that the U.S. consumer prices rose in June but at a slower pace, boosted by the biggest jump in gasoline prices in a year, the latest indicator of firming inflationary pressures across the U.S. economy.
The consumer price index increased 0.3 percent after a 0.4 percent gain the prior month, matching estimates by Bloomberg, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington.
Now the Federal Reserve has set an annual inflation goal of 2%. But it prefers to look at a different gauge, the Commerce Department`s personal consumption expenditures price index, which typically runs below the CPI`s level. In May, the PCE price index was up 1.8% from a year earlier and rose 1.5% excluding food and energy.
By that measurement, inflation has undershot the central bank`s target for more than two years. But both closely watched gauges have risen in recent months as the labor market has gained strength, fueling a debate inside and outside the Fed over the future course of interest rates.
Accordingly:
-The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained by 0.36% or 61.81 points to 17113.54
-The S&P 500 index gained by 0.50% or 9.90 points to 1983.53
-The NASDAQ Composite gained by 2.01% or 57.30 points to 4456.02 . As of 16:27 p.m. ET
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