Wall Street’s main indices opened flat on Thursday, after the release of August inflation data. According to data released on Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, headline inflation rose to 2.9% in August, up from 2.7% in July.
In the early hours of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) gained 86.2 points, or 0.19%, reaching 45,577.09. The S&P 500 (.SPX) rose 22.4 points, or 0.34%, to 6,554.41, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) climbed 91.5 points, or 0.42%, to 21,977.52.
Core inflation held steady at 3.1%, in line with expectations. Despite the uptick, price pressures, including those stemming from tariffs introduced during President Donald Trump’s administration remain relatively contained.
The latest inflation report comes just days before the Federal Reserve is expected to announce a widely anticipated quarter-point interest rate cut.
However, the uptick in prices last month may give policymakers reason to reconsider, as lower interest rates could fuel consumer spending and potentially add more pressure to already rising prices.
Egg prices, long seen as a symbol of inflation, remained unchanged in August, but are still nearly 11% higher than a year ago. Coffee prices surged 20% over the same period, according to the new data.
Housing costs rose 0.4% in August, contributing the most to the overall increase in prices. Food prices climbed 0.5%, while energy costs were up 0.7% for the month.
Consumer prices increased 0.4% from July to August, marking the largest monthly gain since December.
Concerns about the labour market continue to mount. A jobs report released last week showed a significant slowdown in hiring for August, extending a trend of weaker job growth.
Additionally, revised data released Tuesday revealed that the US economy added far fewer jobs in 2024 and early 2025 than previously reported, deepening concerns about the strength of the job market.