Wall Street Climbs As Inflation Cools, Nasdaq 100 Hits 10-Week Highs

Wall Street opened Tuesday with cautious gains after inflation data for April came in cooler than expected, calming investor concerns over tariff-driven price spikes.

April's inflation report showed consumer prices rising 2.3% year over year, slightly below the 2.4% forecast and down from the previous month's reading of 2.4%. On a monthly basis, prices increased 0.2%, rebounding from March's 0.1% decline but missing expectations of a 0.3% gain.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, held steady at 2.8% annually—matching both March’s figure and economists' forecasts. Month over month, core prices rose 0.2%, a modest acceleration from March's 0.1% increase but still softer than the expected 0.3%.

Shelter remained a major contributor to inflation, rising 0.3% in April and accounting for over half of the monthly increase in the overall Consumer Price Index. Meanwhile, several categories posted price declines, including airline fares, used cars and trucks, communication services and apparel.

Despite inflation coming in below forecasts, expectations for interest rate cuts held steady. Traders still see just an 8% chance of a cut in June, rising to 38% for July. Markets continue to price in a total of 60 basis points in rate reductions by year-end, well below the almost 75 basis points priced a week ago.

The Nasdaq 100 led major benchmarks, rising 0.37% and on track to open at its highest level in 10 weeks.

Index Moves: Nasdaq Shakes Off Bear Market

Since its April low, the tech-heavy benchmark – as tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 QQQ – has rallied 27%, sharply rebounding from last month's bear market triggered by the implementation of Trump's new tariffs on April 2.

Semiconductors remained the strongest segment within tech. The iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX added another 0.7% in premarket after an explosive 7.2% surge Monday, buoyed by investor optimism following the U.S.-China trade truce.

Top Post-CPI Movers: Financials Lead

Shares of credit and fintech firms jumped in the 30 minutes following the inflation report:

S&P 500 Premarket Gainers

S&P 500 Premarket Losers

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.