Stocks rebound after inflation gauge met expectations…Tesla jumps 4% [New York stock market briefing]

The three major New York indices rebounded after four days. A price gauge preferred by the U.S. central bank (Fed) matched expectations, drawing bargain buying that supported the market.

On the 26th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 299.97 points (0.65%) at 46,247.29. The S&P 500 rose 38.98 points (0.59%) to 6,643.70, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 99.37 points (0.44%) to close at 22,484.07.

The August personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index matched expectations across major components. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the core PCE price index, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 0.2% month‑on‑month and 2.9% year‑on‑year in August.

The headline PCE price index rose 0.3% month‑on‑month and 2.7% year‑on‑year in August.

Core figures remained at the same rate of increase as in July, while the headline figures showed a slightly steeper rise than in July.

But market participants took the results as unremarkable and responded with buying. As a result, the three major indices succeeded in rebounding together after four trading days.

U.S. consumer spending and incomes also exceeded expectations amid the moderate inflation trend. Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.6% month‑on‑month, and personal income increased 0.4%.

The consumer sentiment index, which reflects U.S. consumers' economic confidence, retreated slightly from the preliminary reading but not by enough to shock the market. According to the University of Michigan, the final September consumer sentiment index was 55.1, down 0.3 points from the preliminary 55.4.

David Russell, global market strategist at TradeStation, said, "With the market having fallen for three days, these figures were sufficiently positive to pull buyers out of their wait‑and‑see stance."

By sector, all sectors rose except consumer staples. Real estate, utilities, materials, and consumer discretionary each jumped more than 1%.

Among mega tech companies with market capitalizations over $1 trillion, Tesla stood out, rising more than 4%. The other companies traded in a narrow range.

U.S. game company Electronic Arts surged 14% on reports that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and private equity firm Silver Lake would acquire it for about $50 billion and take it private. U.S. semiconductor company Intel also rose more than 4% on hopes it could receive investment from Apple.

U.S. cloud infrastructure company Oracle fell 2.7% that day as well. After soaring on a mega deal with OpenAI, Oracle has been declining amid concerns about financing and revenue concentration among a few companies, which has raised caution.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, federal funds futures priced in a 67.0% probability of a 0.5%-point rate cut by December. It was 73.3% near yesterday's close.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 1.45 points (8.66%) to 15.29.

Ko Jeong-sam, Hankyung.com reporter jsk@hankyung.com