U.S. stocks opened mixed after inflation eased in April to a four-month low but a narrower measure that excludes the volatile food and energy sectors remained the same.
Overall consumer prices increased 2.3% from a year earlier, down from a 2.4% rise the previous month, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index, a measure of average changes in goods and services costs. The so-called core rate, less food and energy, was unchanged at 2.8%, though that was the lowest in four years.
At 9:47 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow index eased 0.37%, or 156.36 points, to 42,253.74; the broad S&P 500 rose 0.26%, or 14.91 points, to 5,859.10; and the tech-laden Nasdaq added 0.64%, or 119.13 points, to 18,827.47. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.467%.
"We’re not ready to call it a turning point," said trading platform's eToro Global Market analyst Lale Akoner. "Yes, the headline number cooled thanks largely to cheaper oil and the biggest grocery price drop since 2020 but the details are less comforting. Housing costs remained stubbornly high," for example.
Additionally, the inflation outlook from tariffs remains murky. In coming months, "we’ll get a clearer picture of whether tariffs feed into consumer prices or trigger substitution effects and whether trade tensions end up hitting growth harder than inflation," Akoner said.
The mixed open comes off the heels of a strong rally on Monday after the U.S. and China announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs . Effective from Wednesday , the U.S. will temporarily reduce tariffs on China to 30%, down from 145%, and China will reduce tariffs on U.S. goods to 10%, down from 125%. The S&P 500 touched a more than two-month high and the Dow soared more than 1,100 points.
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Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US stocks open mixed after April inflation report
