U.S. Stocks Surge as CPI Rises 2.9% Year-Over-Year

On the morning of September 11, U.S. stocks continued to rise, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index hitting new intraday highs. The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August rose 2.9% year-over-year, in line with expectations, and 0.4% month-over-month, exceeding expectations. The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 462.86 points, or 1.02%, to 45,953.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 92.64 points, or 0.42%, to 21,978.70. The S&P 500 Index rose 34.66 points, or 0.53%, to 6,566.70.

Early in the morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a high of 45,969.93, and the S&P 500 Index rose to 6,567.06, both setting new intraday highs.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed mixed. Driven by a surge in Oracle's stock price, the S&P 500 Index set a new closing record for the second consecutive day. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed slightly higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points.

Investors are optimistic about the growth prospects of Oracle's cloud business. The company's stock soared about 36% on Wednesday, marking its best single-day performance since 1992, and its market value increased by 244 billion dollars.

Traders also saw this as a positive signal for the overall artificial intelligence sector. Stocks related to artificial intelligence, such as Broadcom, AMD, and Micron Technology, also rose, providing a bright spot for investors on an otherwise lackluster trading day.

On Thursday morning, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the U.S. CPI for August rose 2.9% year-over-year, in line with expectations. The CPI rose 0.4% month-over-month, exceeding the consensus estimate of 0.3%.

Economists surveyed by the Dow Jones had expected the index to rise 0.3% month-over-month and 2.9% year-over-year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI was expected to rise 0.3% month-over-month and 3.1% year-over-year.

Following the release of the CPI data, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell below 4% for the first time since April.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for August unexpectedly fell 0.1% month-over-month, with a 12-month cumulative increase of 2.6%. This data led investors to believe that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in September.

In Europe, the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged. The ECB President stated that if the inflation rate deviates only slightly from the 2% target, and if this deviation remains slight and not persistent, it may not necessarily be a reason for the central bank to take any special action.

The ECB President noted that the eurozone sovereign bond market is operating smoothly with good liquidity. Quantitative tightening is proceeding smoothly.

The ECB President also mentioned that the eurozone economy grew 0.7% in the first half of the year, driven by resilient domestic demand.

The ECB President added that the quarterly trends show stronger growth in the first quarter, followed by a slowdown in the second quarter, partly reflecting the advance release of international trade ahead of expected tariff increases, with the subsequent reversal of this effect. The impact of trade agreements will become clearer over time.

Consumer prices for various goods and services rose more than expected in August, while the number of unemployment benefit applicants accelerated, providing a challenging economic signal ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week.

The seasonally adjusted U.S. CPI for August rose 0.4% month-over-month, double the previous month's increase of 0.2%, keeping the annualized inflation rate at 2.9%. Economists surveyed by the Dow Jones had expected a 0.3% month-over-month increase and a 2.9% year-over-year increase.

Excluding food and energy prices, the key August core CPI index rose 0.3% month-over-month and 3.1% year-over-year, both in line with expectations. Federal Reserve officials believe that the core index is a more effective measure of long-term trends.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the real average weekly earnings in August rose 0.4% year-over-year. The real average weekly earnings fell 0.1% month-over-month, and the real average hourly earnings rose 0.7% year-over-year and fell 0.1% month-over-month. The real average weekly earnings increased by 1.67 dollars from the same period last year to 386.35 dollars.

In terms of employment, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time unexpectedly rose to 263,000, seasonally adjusted, exceeding the expected 235,000 and increasing by 27,000 from the previous week.

Adobe announced the launch of its first AI-powered suite. The company will release its earnings report after the market closes on Thursday.

NetEase's stock rose more than 1% in pre-market trading, with its intraday stock price hitting a new high. The mobile game "Destiny" has been at the top of the U.S. iOS game download chart for several consecutive days.

Alibaba's "Gaode Street Ranking" surpassed 40 million users on its first day of launch, becoming the largest food ranking in the region.

NIO received another 100 million dollars in funding.

Xpeng's "land aircraft" X3-F received a special flight permit in the United Arab Emirates.

Trip.com and Cityline reached a strategic cooperation to expand ticketing services in the Hong Kong and China Macau regions.