US stocks end little changed

Indices finished choppy trading post release of consumer price inflation data that came in line with economist estimates.

The major US averages ended the day narrowly mixed yesterday. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 50.66 points (0.3%) to 19,230.74, the S&P 500 crept up 1.39 points (less than a tenth of a percent) to 5,985.38 and the Dow inched up 47.21 points (0.1%) to 43,958.19.

The Consumer Price Index crept up by 0.2% in October from 2.4% in September. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices climbed by 0.3% in October. The annual rate of core consumer price growth was unchanged from the previous month at 3.3%, which was also in line with estimates.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 82.3 percent chance of another quarter point rate cut in December but a 60.2% chance rates will then be left unchanged in January.

Airline stocks displayed substantial weakness on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plummeting by 7.3%. A nosedive by shares of Spirit Airlines (SAVE) weigh on the sector, with the discount airline plunging by 59.3%.

Semiconductor stocks showed significant weakness as reflected by the 2% slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Oil service, steel and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable weakness, while oil producer and retail stocks strongly moved upside.

Asia Pacific stocks moved mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.7% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1%.

Meanwhile, the major European markets finished the day narrowly mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1%, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1% & the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2%.

In the bond market, treasuries moved modestly lower over the course of the session after seeing early strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, crept up 1.9 bps to a four-month closing high of 4.45% after hitting a low of 4.35%.

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