By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - Major stock exchanges in the US closed Wednesday with gains after consumer inflation in July posted its slowest annual gain since March 2021.
The Dow Jones increased 242 points, or 0.61%, to finish the session at 40,008.
The S&P 500 rose 20 points, or 0.38%, to 5,455. The Nasdaq added almost five points, or 0.03%, to 17,192.
Consumer inflation in the US annually rose 2.9% in July, slowing down from a year-on-year increase of 3% recorded in June. On a monthly basis, however, CPI showed an increase of 0.2% in July, accelerating from June when it recorded a monthly decline of 0.1%.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, gained 0.2% in July from the previous month, also slightly gaining pace from the 0.1% increase in June. Annually, core CPI climbed 3.2% in July, marking the smallest annual increase since April 2021, and decelerating from a 3.3% year-on-year gain recorded in June.
The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 10.7% to 16.17. The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 0.42% to 3.841%.
The US dollar index rose 0.05% to 102.61, while the euro rose 0.2% to $1.1014 against the greenback.
Precious metals were in negative territory, with gold losing 0.7% to $2,448 per ounce and silver down 1.1% to $27.56.
Oil prices were down more than 1%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $79.81 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $77.10.