US stocks open higher as inflation at lowest in more than 2 years

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks opened higher Wednesday as annual consumer inflation slowed to its lowest pace in more than two years.

The blue-chip Dow Jones added 116 points, or 0.34%, to 34,182 at 9.37 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 rose 23 points, or 0.54%, to 4,362.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 107 points, or 0.8%, to 13,569.

Annual consumer inflation in the US came in at 4% in May -- the smallest 12-month increase since March 2021, and significantly easing from 4.9% in April.

The positive figure gave optimism to investors who hope the Federal Reserve will pause interest rate increases at the conclusion of a two-day meeting Wednesday.

The probability of the Fed keeping rates unchanged was at 93.1% at 9.42 a.m. EDT, according to the FedWatch Tool provided by the US-based global markets company the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, dove 3.3% to 14.49. The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, fell 0.5% to 3.745%.

The dollar index shed 0.5% to 103.13, and the euro rose 0.4% to $1.0804 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in negative territory, with gold losing 0.1% to $1,955 per ounce and silver trimming 0.3% to $23.98.

Oil prices were up more than 3.5%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $74.39 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $69.52.