US stocks remain unsettled after wholesale inflation report

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged higher, though trading remain unsettled on Wall Street Wednesday after a report showed that inflation remains very hot.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 1:17 p.m. Eastern. The index was roughly evenly split between gainers and losers. Different sectors have the market have been alternating between leading and lagging throughout the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94 points, or 0.3%, to 29,331 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%.

Banks and technology stocks made solid gains. Bank of America rose 1.1% and Intuit rose 4.2%.

Consumer goods companies also rose broadly. PepsiCo rose 4.1% after raising its profit forecast for the year following encouraging quarterly financial results.

Small company stocks fell in a potential sign that Wall Street is worried about economic growth. The Russell 2000 slipped 0.2%.

Treasury yields, which have driven much of Wall Street’s recent trading, were holding relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects mortgage rates, fell to 3.93% from 3.95% late Tuesday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury rose to 4.32% from 4.31% from late Tuesday.

Markets have been volatile all week as investors wait for the latest round of big company earnings reports and fresh reports on inflation and retail sales. The benchmark S&P 500 is coming off five straight losses and is close to its lowest point in nearly two years.

A report from the government showed that inflation at the wholesale level eased last month, though it was a bit worse than economists expected. A more closely watched component of the inflation data matched economists’ forecasts.

Inflation updates are being closely watched by investors who worry that stubbornly high prices on everything from food to clothing could lead to a recession. Those worries have been worsened by central banks around the world raising interest rates to make borrowing more expensive and slow economic growth.

The Federal Reserve has been particularly aggressive, and its strategy carries the risk of stalling an already slowing economy and causing a recession. The central bank will release minutes from its last meeting later on Wednesday, possibly giving Wall Street more insight into its views on inflation and next steps on interest rates.

A closely watched report on consumer prices is due Thursday and data on retail sales for September is due Friday. Both reports could help give Wall Street a clearer picture of where prices remain hottest and how consumers are reacting.

The corporate earnings season begins in earnest this week. Domino's Pizza and Walgreens will report their results on Thursday. Big banks, including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, will report results on Friday.

The British pound weakened against the U.S. dollar after the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, confirmed the bank will not extend beyond Friday an emergency debt-buying plan introduced last month to stabilize financial markets.

Markets in Europe were mostly lower.

The U.S. dollar has been gaining strength relative to other currencies amid increased recession fears. The Japanese yen declined to a 24-year low against the U.S. dollar to 146 yen-levels, raising expectations of an intervention to prop up the yen following one such move in September.