WALL Street stocks treaded water on Wednesday (Apr 24) as markets awaited key US inflation data while digesting mixed corporate earnings.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare pointed to a “little bit of caution” ahead of an inflation reading due on Friday that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve.

O’Hare also said investors were waiting for earnings reports to come from Facebook parent Meta, Amazon and other tech giants.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.1 per cent at 38,460.92.

The broad-based S&P 500 was essentially flat at 5,071.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.1 per cent to 15,712.75.

Wednesday’s session was muted after the market advanced the last two days in a move seen reflecting relief that the Middle East conflict had not escalated.

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“There’s been a renewed inclination to sell into the strength to test the resolve of the bulls,” O’Hare said.

Among individual companies, Tesla shares shot up 12.1 per cent despite disappointing results after chief executive Elon Musk pledged to accelerate production of new, more affordable electric vehicles.

Hasbro surged 11.9 per cent as it reported a smaller drop in sales than expected. The toymaker pointed to progress in a company turnaround.

Boeing shares dropped 2.9 per cent as it reported a quarterly loss of US$343 million, reflecting slower output due to safety concerns.

The airplane maker was downgraded by Moody’s, which pointed to the “inadequate” performance of the company’s commercial plane business. AFP