Data Tuesday showed wholesale inflation slowing, but bigger price gains in key categories that feed into the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge contained excitement about rate cuts

U.S. stocks are ticking higher Tuesday following an encouraging update on inflation. The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 164 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.

Inflation probably picked up in late 2024, fueled by robust household spending amid a strong economy. A key gauge of inflation — the consumer price index — is expected to show Wednesday morning that prices rose by 2.9 percent in December from a year earlier, according to economists’ forecasts of data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

British inflation unexpectedly slowed to an annual rate of 2.5% in December from 2.6% in November, official figures showed on Wednesday.