US Markets Shrug Off Inflation Data, Close Higher

Bargain-hunting helped US markets close higher on Wednesday, as investors looked past another historic inflation report, and topped up their portfolios ahead of the Easter break.

US wholesale prices surged 11.2 percent over the last 12 months, the biggest annual increase since the Labor Department reformulated its producer price index in November 2010.

The report comes on the heels of equally ugly consumer price index data released Tuesday.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller told CNBC "we might be at the peak" of the inflation wave, but he supported raising interest rates by half a percentage point next month, and potentially by the same amount in the central bank's June and July meetings.

Chris Low of FHN Financial said investors want to balance their portfolios after selling off shares in anticipation of the worrisome inflation data.

"People were short going into the week, but they don't want to be short for the holiday weekend," Low said, noting that while markets will be opened Thursday, they are closed on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.0 percent to 34,564.

The S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent to 4,446, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 2.0 percent to 13,643.

JPMorgan Chase fell 3.2 percent after reporting earnings that missed expectations. Executives said the US economy remains on solid footing, but warned that the risk of a recession has risen given inflation, shifting Fed policy and the Ukraine war.

Delta Air Lines surged 6.2 percent as it reported a quarterly loss of US$940 million, but said healthy consumer demand was translating into strong enough pricing to offset spiking fuel costs.

Other airlines also had a good session, with American Airlines rising 10.6 percent and United Airlines jumping 5.6 percent. (AFP)