Financial Markets                      12/11 16:23

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes got back to climbing on Wednesday after 
the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the 
economy from the Federal Reserve.

   The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to break its first two-day losing streak in nearly a 
month and finished just short of its all-time high. Big Tech stocks led the 
way, which drove the Nasdaq composite up 1.8% to top the 20,000 level for the 
first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, lagged the market with 
a dip of 99 points, or 0.2%.

   Stocks got a boost as expectations built that Wednesday's inflation data 
will allow the Fed to deliver another cut to interest rates at its meeting next 
week.

   Traders are betting on a nearly 99% probability of that, according to data 
from CME Group, up from 89% a day before. If they're correct, it would be a 
third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a 
two-decade high. It's hoping to support a slowing job market after getting 
inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target.

   Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, 
but they could also provide more fuel for inflation.

   "The data have given the Fed the 'all clear' for next week, and today's 
inflation data keep a January cut in active discussion," according to Ellen 
Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

   Expectations for a series of cuts to rates by the Fed have been one of the 
main reasons the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times this year, with the 
latest coming last week.

   The biggest boosts for the index on Wednesday came from Nvidia and other Big 
Tech stocks. Their massive growth has made them Wall Street's biggest stars for 
years, though other kinds of stocks have recently been catching up somewhat 
amid hopes for the broader U.S. economy.

   Tesla jumped 5.9% to finish above $420 at $424.77. It's a level that Elon 
Musk made famous in a 2018 tweet when he said he had secured funding to take 
Tesla private at $420 per share.

   Stitch Fix soared 44.3% after the company that sends clothes to your door 
reported a smaller loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also 
gave financial forecasts for the current quarter that were better than 
expected, including for revenue.

   GE Vernova rallied 5% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500. The 
energy company that spun out of General Electric said it would pay a 25 cent 
dividend every three months, and it approved a plan to send up to another $6 
billion to its shareholders by buying back its own stock.

   On the losing end of Wall Street, Dave & Buster's Entertainment tumbled 
20.1% after reporting a worse loss for the latest quarter than expected. It 
also said CEO Chris Morris has resigned, and the board has been working with an 
executive-search firm for the last few months to find its next permanent leader.

   Albertsons fell 1.5% after filing a lawsuit against Kroger, saying it didn't 
do enough for their proposed $24.6 billion merger agreement to win regulatory 
clearance. Albertsons said it's seeking billions of dollars in damages from 
Kroger, whose stock rose 1%.

   A day earlier, judges in separate cases in Oregon and Washington nixed the 
supermarket giants' merger. The grocers contended a combination could have 
helped them compete with big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon, but 
critics said it would hurt competition.

   After terminating the merger agreement with Kroger, Albertsons said it plans 
to boost its dividend 25% and increased the size of its program to buy back its 
own stock.

   Macy's slipped 0.8% after cutting some of its financial forecasts for the 
full year of 2024, including for how much profit it expects to make off each $1 
of revenue.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 49.28 points to 6,084.19. The Dow dipped 99.27 to 
44,148.56, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 347.65 to 20,034.89.

   In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.27% from 
4.23% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks 
expectations for the Fed, edged up to 4.15% from 4.14%.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng was an outlier and slipped 0.8% as Chinese leaders 
convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic 
policies and growth targets for the coming year.

   South Korea's Kospi rose 1%, up for a second straight day as it climbs back 
following last week's political turmoil where its president briefly declared 
martial law.

   ___

   AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

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