Investing.com — U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, boosted by a cooler than expected May inflation print ahead of the conclusion of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting.
At 06:35 ET (10:35 GMT), rose 360 points, or 0.9%, rose 44 points, or 0.8%, and rose 210 points, or 1.2%
Fed meeting, CPI data due
U.S. consumer prices increased by less than expected on an annualized basis in May, as the consumer price index rose by 3.3% last month, decelerating slightly from 3.4% in April. Month-on-month, the reading slowed to 0.0% from 0.3%.
This data pointed to a possible easing in price pressures that could influence how Federal Reserve policymakers see the future path of interest rates.
The Fed concludes its two-day meeting later in the session, and is widely expected to .
Markets are hopeful that the Fed flags potential rate cuts, especially after peers, particularly the , began trimming rates earlier in June.
Still, the general consensus is that the Fed will only begin , as the U.S. labor market remains strong and inflation expectations elevated.
Oracle surges on AI partnerships
The tech market remained in focus Wednesday, with Oracle (NYSE:) stock rose 9% after the computer technology group announced two new partnerships with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Google (NASDAQ:) Cloud in a bid to extend the reach of its AI infrastructure, while also unveiling a healthy forecast for revenue growth in its 2025 fiscal year.
Elsewhere, Rubrik (NYSE:) stock rose over 3% after the cloud data management company beat first-quarter expectations on revenue.
Nio (NYSE:) ADRs fell 1.2% after the European Union said it would slap higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, of up to 38%.
Crude boosted by demand optimism
Crude prices rose Wednesday, boosted by the U.S. inflation data as well as upbeat views of global demand.
By 09:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 1.7% higher at $79.20 per barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 1.6% to $83.25 per barrel.
This overshadowed a bearish monthly report from the International Energy Agency, in which the Paris-based agency cut its global crude demand growth forecast for 2024 by 100,000 barrels per day to 960,000 bpd, citing sluggish consumption in developed countries.
Data from the , released on Tuesday, showed that U.S. oil inventories shrank more than expected last week, ramping up hopes that U.S. fuel consumption was picking up with the onset of the travel-heavy summer season.
The official weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later in the session.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)