US stocks end up as Fed, CPI loom large next week

By Sruthi Shankar, Shristi Achar A and David Carnevali

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed up on Tuesday, helped by some advances in economically sensitive sectors, as investors awaited inflation data and the Federal Reserve's policy meet next week.

Inflation data is expected to show consumer prices cooled slightly on a month-over-month basis in May but core prices are likely to have remained elevated, and the Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates.

Major indexes wavered as investors took a breather after pushing the S&P 500 up almost 20% from its October 2022 lows, boosted by gains in megacap stocks, a stronger-than-expected earnings season and hopes that the U.S. central bank is nearing the end of its interest rate-hike cycle.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.42 points, or 0.03%, to 33,573.28, the S&P 500 gained 10.06 points, or 0.24%, to 4,283.85 and the Nasdaq Composite added 46.99 points, or 0.36%, to 13,276.42.

"It looks like investors are gaining a little optimism," said Cresset Capital CIO Jack Ablin.

"The narrowness in the market where everyone was focused on the top seven names or so is starting to dissipate a little bit and that's good news."

Financials rose 1.33% to lead gains among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, while the KBW regional banking index jumped 5.41%. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap companies added 2.69%.

Recent economic data and dovish remarks from Fed officials have raised the odds of the Fed holding interest rates at its June 13-14 meeting.

Fed fund futures indicate traders have priced in a near 80% chance that the central bank will hold interest rates in the 5%-5.25% range, according to CMEGroup's Fedwatch tool. However, they see 50% odds of another 25-basis-point rate hike in July.

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Global plunged 12.09% after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the crypto exchange, accusing it of illegally operating without having first registered with the regulator.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) extended losses to slip 0.21%, a day after the iPhone maker unveiled a costly augmented-reality headset called the Vision Pro, barging into a market dominated by Meta.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) rose 5.34% after Piper Sandler raised the price target on the stock to $150, the second highest on Wall Street, as per Refinitiv data.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.47-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.59-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 98 new highs and 69 new lows.