4:16pm: Meta shares shine
The Dow closed Wednesday up 171 points, 0.5%, at 37,696, the Nasdaq Composite gained 112 points, 0.8%, to 14,967 and the S&P 500 added 27 points, 0.6%, to 4,783. The small-cap Russell 2000 index lost 1 point to 1,967.
Meta shares added nearly 4%, leading the Nasdaq higher.
Investors are also looking ahead to consumer price index data Thursday morning, perhaps for clues as to whether the Fed will cut interest rates at its next meeting.
“We’re in this calm before the realization,” said Phillip Colmar, managing partner and global strategist at MRB Partners, as reported by CNBC. “Right now, the market’s pretty quiet, but I don’t think it’ll be quiet all year."
12:00pm: Mood cautious as inflation figures loom
Technology stocks held firm once more but blue-chips wavered ahead of Thursday's figures.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 33.21 points, 0.1%, at 37,558.37, the S&P 500 was up 8.03 points, 0.2%, at 4,764.53 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 42.90 points, 0.3%, at 14,900.61.
Chris Beauchamp at IG said: "The countdown to the latest US inflation reading has begun, and investors are hunkering down ahead of a potentially volatile period for markets."
"The month so far has been relatively quiet, and the past few days have seen the equity rally flicker into life, most notably for the Nikkei 225."
"But overall the gains have been cautious.”
9:40am: Stocks climb as mood improved ahead of inflation print
Stoocks made steady progress on Wednesday asinvestors hoped a favourable inflation print on Wednesday would spark new life into the equity market.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 100.98 points, 0.3%, at 37,626.14, the S&P 500 was up 10.31 points, 0.2%, at 4,766.81 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 47.58 points, 0.3%, at 14,905.29.
Investors will look through the reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve may start cutting rates.
Some of those expectations have been dialed back in recent days, although the odds hover at around 64%, according to CME Group FedWatch tool.
7:00am: Stocks set for subdued start as inflation print looms
Stocks are expected to make a subdued start to trading as investors look ahead to key inflation figures on Thursday.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1%, while those for the S&P 500 were flat and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%.
Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets said early optimism seen throughout financial markets may be difficult to maintain given the uncertainty within markets as we head into a crucial second half of the week.
“Between tomorrows US inflation report, and the earnings from a raft of big banks, we should gain greater clarity over market sentiment by the weekend,” he suggested.
Cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Marathon Digital fell 1% and nearly 3%, respectively, as bitcoin prices declined.
The price movement came on the back of an incorrect announcement posted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account, saying that it had approved bitcoin ETFs.