STORY: U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday as the S&P 500 set a new closing record ahead of Friday's major inflation report.
The Dow rose 1.2%, the S&P rose nearly nine-tenths of a percent and the Nasdaq rose half a percent.
The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, the Consumer Expenditure Price Index, is released on Good Friday, when the stock market closes.
The Fed predicted three rate cuts this year at its policy meeting last week, but Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management, said one or two are more likely. I believe.
“In my opinion, the Fed has gotten quite wrong about inflation over the last three months. I think inflation is moving forward. All the data points we're looking at indicate that most, but not all, All data points show that things are starting to go up, not down. [FLASH] With stock prices at all-time highs and the unemployment rate so low, it is questionable whether they will cut interest rates in June. ”
In corporate news, Merck shares rose 5% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug for a rare lung disease.
Trump Media & Technology Group shares rose more than 14% in a day after a strong debut on the Nasdaq.
Gains in the tech-heavy Nasdaq were capped by AI giant Nvidia, which fell 2.5%. But Nvidia stock is still up more than 80% since the beginning of the year.
GameStop shares also fell 15% after the video game retailer reported lower fourth-quarter revenue and announced layoffs to cut costs.