Investing.com -- U.S. stocks posted small gains Wednesday, as investors cautiously awaited the release of key inflation data as well as big bank earnings later in the week.
By 09:40 ET (14:40 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 85 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 traded l10 points higher, or 0.2%, and NASDAQ Composite climbed 40 points, or 0.3%.
CPI generates “wait-and-see mode”
Markets largely remain in a “wait-and-see mode” as investors prepare for Thursday’s key consumer inflation report for December, which is likely to dictate sentiment ahead of the next Federal Reserve meeting at the end of the month.
While the Fed has laid out a dovish projection for the path of borrowing costs in 2024, several policymakers have moved recently to temper optimism that a reduction could come early this year.
The crucial core figure is rising by 0.2% month-on-month, dragging the annual pace down to 3.8%, a level not seen since mid-2021. However, if inflation proves to be more sticky, equities could be hit hard.
Boeing rebounds after hefty losses
In the corporate sector, Boeing (NYSE:BA) stock rose 1.5%, attempting a rebound after losses of around 9% over the past two sessions, despite Chief Executive Dave Calhoun admitting that a dangerous mid-air blow-out of a door panel on one of its 737 Max aircraft last week was "our mistake."
Scrutiny has intensified once again around Boeing and its popular 737 Max, the family of single-aisle planes that were at the center of a safety crisis following deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019.
Elsewhere, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock fell 0.8% after the EV manufacturer released an updated version of its Model 3 sedan in North America after it was previously launched in China and Europe.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) stock retreated 2.4% after the wild swings of price of Bitcoin, the most widely used digital currency, upon a false post on the popular social media platform X appeared to show that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had for the first-time approved Bitcoin exchange traded funds.
The latest quarterly earnings season starts in earnest on Friday, with results from big banks Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) due.
Official U.S. inventories due
Oil prices rose Wednesday, extending the recent rebound as Middle East supply disruptions persisted while industry data pointed to mixed U.S. inventories.
By 09:40 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 1.1% higher at $73.05 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.9% to $78.31 a barrel.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute, released late Tuesday, showed that U.S. crude stockpiles fell by a larger-than-expected 5.2 million barrels in the week to January 5.
But the API data also showed another week of strong builds in gasoline and distillates inventories, raising doubts over demand from the world’s largest fuel consumer. These numbers could have been exacerbated by a massive winter storm battering several parts of the country, further limiting road travel.
The official crude inventory numbers from the Energy Information Administration are due later in the session.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.1% to $2,034.95/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.0936.
(Oliver Gray contributed to this article.)