US stocks mixed after muted inflation data

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were mixed early Tuesday following muted US inflation data and solid results from JPMorgan Chase.

The consumer price index rose 2.7 percent last month, the same rate as in November and in line with expectations.

Analysts said the report keeps alive the likelihood of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2026.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent at 49,380.91.

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The broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 6,975.76, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 percent at 23,773.83.

“Even though there was no change from the last report, it was better than what was expected,” CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall said of the inflation data.

JPMorgan dipped 1.1 percent after reporting quarterly profits of $13.0 billion, down seven percent from the year-ago period.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon offered a fairly upbeat outlook on the US economy saying “consumers continue to spend, and businesses generally remain healthy.”