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US Equity Indexes Mixed as Hot Producer Prices Push Dow Jones Industrial Average Lower

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US equity indexes traded mixed in midday trading on Wednesday amid a hot producer price inflation print.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 49,532.5, while the Nasdaq rose 0.8% to 26,304.2 and the S&P 500 climbed 0.3% to 7,424.8. Utilities, financials, and real estate led the decliners. Communication services, consumer discretionary, and technology were among the top gainers.

Of the top 10 companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, implying a significant sway over indexes, seven were from technology and communication services. In the S&P 500, the top gainer was ON Semiconductor (ON). Nasdaq's leader was Marvell Technology (MRVL), and Nvidia (NVDA) was the second-biggest gainer on the Dow.

In economic news, the US Producer Price Index jumped 1.4% in April from a 0.7% gain in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, beating the 0.5% increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. After excluding food and energy prices, core PPI surged 1.0% from 0.2%, above the 0.3% advance anticipated.

Year-over-year, PPI soared 6.0% in April while core PPI catapulted 5.2%, both above their respective March rates and the strongest readings since December 2022.

US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year up 1.2 basis points to 4.48%. The two-year rate was steady at 4%.

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