Wall Street Today: U.S. consumer price growth cools, smallest gain in 7 months

Asian stocks look set to fall Wednesday after Wall Street slipped on growth concerns, while Treasuries rallied in the wake of an inflation report that suggested the Federal Reserve won’t rush to taper stimulus.

Equity futures slid in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. U.S. contracts were steady after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both retreated overnight. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell below 1.3%, narrowing the yield gap between short- and longer-maturity U.S. debt. The dollar was steady and gold held a climb.

Prices paid by U.S. consumers rose in August by less than forecast, snapping a string of hefty gains and suggesting that some of the upward pressure on inflation is beginning to wane.

The consumer price index increased 0.3% from July, the smallest advance in seven months, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. Compared with a year ago, the CPI rose 5.3%. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, so-called core inflation climbed 0.1% from the prior month, the smallest gain since February and a reflection of declines in the prices of used cars, airfares and auto insurance.

Consumer spending on video game hardware, content and accessories hit a record high for the month of August, assuaging concerns that the pandemic boost in gaming would wane with economic re-openings.

Total spending rose 7% last month compared with a year ago to $4.4 billion, according to data from NPD Group released Tuesday. So far this year, spending has increased 13% to $37.9 billion compared with the same period a year earlier. Hardware sales jumped 45% to $329 million in the month. It was the best August tally since 2008.

The repurchase authorization has no expiration date, and may be terminated at any time. The company’s stock has risen 35% in 2021. Microsoft had $130.3 billion in cash and equivalents at the end of June.

Pay for directors at the biggest U.S. companies held steady last year, a first in more than a decade. An analysis of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. companies by revenue found that median pay for directors in 2020 was $310,000, flat from 2019 and up from $305,000 in 2018.

About 9% of the companies disclosed increases in director pay in 2020, compared with 25% to 33% in recent years. That is likely to change, with the boards of some companies already moving to increase their pay this year, said Compensation Advisory Partners.

Similar to its iPhone 12 lineup, Apple is offering four new models ranging from the $699 iPhone 13 Mini, with a 5.4-inch screen, to the $1,099 Pro Max with a 6.7-inch screen. Starting prices didn't change from a year ago.

It will be easier to expand the service with Instacart, Kroger's CEO said, because the grocery-delivery provider has the technology and shoppers in place to pick and deliver grocery staples, household products and prepared meals from Kroger’s more than 2,700 stores.