The U.S. stock market moved higher as economic reports showed that the Consumer Price Index fell by 0.1 percent as expected in August. Gasoline and airline tickets were behind the biggest drops. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy rose 1.8 percent year-over-year driven by food prices and notably egg, fruits and vegetables saw higher prices.
The S&P 500 was up slightly by 1 point to 1,979, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 8 points to 16,607 and the Nasdaq slid 8 points to 4,851.
Apparel prices were up 0.3 percent in August, the same as in July, but down 0.9 percent for the past 12 months. Over the past year, men’s and boys apparel prices dropped 1.3 percent, while women’s and girls apparel saw prices drop 2.1 percent. Infant and toddler apparel increased 5.9 percent over the past year making it the group in the category with the largest jump in prices. Footwear prices increased 1.1 percent. The biggest drop in prices was felt by the women’s outerwear category, whose prices plunged 4.8 percent.
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Ascena Retail Group beat analyst estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter on strength from its plus-sized businesses at Lane Bryant and catherines. The stock was moving higher by 1.8 percent to $12.19. Ascena reported that net sales decreased 1.1 percent to $1.170 billion, but this also beat the consensus for sales of $1,162 billion. Ascena delivered earnings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 of 6 cents a share, while FactSet consensus was for 5 cents a share.
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Kohl’s said it would be hiring more than 69,000 new associates for the holiday season. Kohl’s stock jumped 10 cents to trade at $50.55. The retailer expects to add an average of 50 employees per store and approximately 9,500 positions at the distribution centers. Many of the new associates will help fill orders that are placed online and then picked up in the stores. Hiring began this month and should be completed by mid-November.
Asian markets closed higher after following Wall Street’s lead from Tuesday. The China Shanghai composite closed up 4.9 percent, with most Asia markets ending on a high note. The European markets also moved higher following Asia’s moves.
Looking ahead, The Federal Reserve will be making a decision regarding interest rates on Thursday following the 2 day FOMC meeting. The market is split on which direction the Fed will take.