Stock Market Today: Dow ends higher as focus shifts to consumer inflation data

Investing.com -- The Dow closed higher Wednesday, shrugging off data pointing to an uptick in the pace of inflation as investor focus shifted to consumer inflation data for September that will likely seal the Federal Reserve’s decision on whether to stand pat on rate hikes next month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, 65 points, Nasdaq gained 0.7%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.4%. 

Wholesale inflation comes in hot; consumer inflation up next 

Producer price inflation surprised to upside on the Wednesday, but that was largely brushed aside with just a day to until the September consumer inflation report.

The consumer price index is expected to have slowed to 0.3% in September, while the core measure, which excludes food and energy and is more closely watched by the Fed, is forecast to have remained steady at a 0.3% pace.  

“We forecast that headline CPI rose by 0.32% in September, down from August, as a lower acceleration in energy prices brings down headline CPI,” Morgan Stanley said in a note.

Fed members backed future hike at September meeting

The Fed’s minutes from its September meeting, released Wednesday, showed that most Fed members were backing one more rate hike.  

The minutes, however, were deemed to be stale on arrival as many Fed members now appear to have shifted to a dovish tone since September following the recent surge in Treasury yields.

Exxon Mobil agrees to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for $59.5 billion

Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) fell more than 3% after the oil and gas giant agreed to buy Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) in all-stock $59.5 billion deal.

The transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2024, is expected to boost Exxon Mobil's total upstream production “to more than 5 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2027,” Goldman Sachs says, and boost the combined entity’s operating cash flow and free cash flow in 2024.

Birkenstock disappoints on stock market debut

Birkenstock Holding (NYSE:BIRK) fell 12% on its stock market debut to end the day at $40.20, below its opening price of $41 a share and IPO price of $46 a share.

Plug Power surges after touting higher growth

Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) said it expects revenue to jump to $6 billion by 2027 and $20 billion by 2030. That would represent a marked increase from its current rate, with revenue for 2023 expecting to come in at about $1.2 billion.

Sentiment on Plug Power has also been boosted by growing optimism for deal wins as the battery power company is believed to be in the running to win funding for hydrogen projects that are expected to be announced by President Biden this week.

Tempest Therapeutics takes flight investors cheer positive liver cancer treatment study update

Tempest Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TPST) surged 1000% after an updated trial of its combination therapy to potentially treat patients with liver cancer showed improved results from an earlier study, when compared with the standard of care.