U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 100 points on Tuesday. Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.27% to 38,873.55 while the NASDAQ rose 0.69% to 16,129.18. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.52% to 5,144.57.
The February consumer price data came in a touch stronger than expected. The headline CPI increased 0.4% in the month, led by higher gasoline prices (+3.8%). Excluding food and energy prices, core inflation also registered 0.4%. However, the unrounded 0.36% bump in core CPI was not too far off our forecast for a 0.30% gain. Furthermore, core price growth was flattered by bigger than expected increases in volatile components such as used autos and airfares. Housing inflation cooled as owners' equivalent rent increased 0.4%, a step down from the eye-catching 0.6% jump in January.