With the July U.S. consumer price increase slowing, the three major New York stock indexes ended mixed near the flat line on the 12th local time.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 21.58 points, or 0.04%, at 53,770.27. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 7,748.50, up 20.30 points, or 0.26%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite ended at 26,588.49, up 143.04 points, or 0.54%.
According to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index (CPI) in July rose 3.4% from a year earlier. The pace slowed 0.1 percentage point from June's 3.5% and matched the consensus compiled by Dow Jones.
The core CPI, which excludes volatile energy and food, also slowed to 2.5% year over year from 2.6% in June.
Amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise rates soon on inflation concerns, the day's inflation data eased some of the Fed's tightening burden.
However, with oil prices remaining high, market caution about the possibility of a rate hike did not disappear completely. October-delivery Brent crude futures settled at $88.98 a barrel, up 0.1% from the previous session, holding near $90.
Oil price declines were limited despite expectations that crude demand would fall as negotiations to resume passage through the Strait of Hormuz remained deadlocked.
As inflation slowed, the market leaned a bit more toward the possibility that the Fed will hold its benchmark rate in September.
According to CME FedWatch, the interest-rate futures market priced a 60% chance that the Fed will keep rates unchanged at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. As recently as a day earlier, markets had seen roughly even odds between a hold and a 0.25 percentage point hike.
Ellen Zentner, chief strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, told CNBC, "Inflation figures in line with expectations will bolster the view, which has emerged since last week's weak jobs data, that 'a rate hike is not necessary.'" She added, however, that "there is room for the outlook to change since one more inflation report will be released before the September FOMC."
By sector, artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure-related stocks were strong. AI cloud firm CoreWeave and server maker Super Micro Computer surged 19.28% and 19.02%, respectively, after releasing results that topped market expectations the previous day.
Memory chipmaker Micron Technology rose 4.92%, while SK hynix American depositary receipts (ADR) jumped 9.01%.