Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index rose to reach fresh record highs on Wednesday as July inflation data was not as bad as investors had feared. Stocks set to benefit from economic reopening led broader market gains, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped lower as market participants rotated out of tech stocks.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
NYSE to require COVID vaccination proof to access trading floor:
The New York Stock Exchange announced Wednesday that it will require all visitors--employed or not--to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to access trading floors starting Sept. 13.
The NYSE already requires visitors to show proof of vaccination. Now, only those with valid exemptions will need to be fully vaccinated to access the floor. NYSE is also expanding its onsite random testing program to include vaccinated personnel.
This move follows a growing trend in corporate America with companies either delaying their office return or requiring vaccinations as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads across the United States.
New bipartisan bill challenges Apple, Google app store dominance:
A new bipartisan bill announced Wednesday seeks to bring more app store competition to a market that is currently dominated by the tech giants Apple
The Open App Markets Act, led by Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn alongside Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar, targets in-app payment systems for companies that own app stores with more than 50 million users in the United States.
Under the bill, companies would not be allowed to condition distribution of an app on their app stores based on whether or not the developer use their in-app payment system. Moreover, companies would be prohibited from keeping developers from communicating about "legitimate business offers," with users, or from punishing developers for using different payment systems.
Here's how the market started trading soon after open:
S&P 500 Index: +0.25% or +11.30 points to 4,448.05
Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.33% or +118.00 points to 35,282.46
Nasdaq Composite Index: +0.30% or +44.91 points to 14,832.82
Consumer prices meet consensus expectations in July:
Consumer price increases came in-line with consensus estimates in July, according to the Labor Department's latest report published Wednesday. However, the rate of increases is still above pre-pandemic levels as the reopening economy continues to struggle with supply shortages not meeting heightened demand.
The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.5% month-over-month in July, coming in-line with expectations and decreasing from June's 0.9% increase. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the CPI rose at a 0.3% rate in July, below the 0.4% increase expected.
Compared to last year, consumer prices maintained the same rate as June, reporting a 5.4% increase.
