US stocks climb on inflation data, bank results

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks mostly rose early Tuesday following improved US inflation data and strong earnings from large banks. The US consumer price index rose by 3. 5 percent on a year-on-year basis in June, down from 4. 2 percent in May, a sharper slowdown than expected. The data came as Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh pledged to rid the United States of a years-long “inflation surge, ” according to prepared remarks of congressional testimony scheduled for later Tuesday morning. About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 52, 503. 33. The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0. 3 percent to 7, 534. 54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0. 5 percent to 26, 011. 25. Large US banks were higher in volatile trading after a series of strong second-quarter results. JPMorgan Chase reported profits of $21. 2 billion, up 41 percent from the year-ago level. Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs also scored higher profits. But IBM shares sank more than 24 percent after warning that second-quarter results would lag expectations due to shifting customer actions that led to weaker sales.

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