Earlier, Wall Street's major averages opened in the green after the latest producer price index (PPI) report. Before the opening bell, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said headline PPI rose 0.2% M/M in March, lower than the expected rise of 0.3% and decelerating from February's high reading of +0.6%. Meanwhile, core PPI also climbed 0.2% M/M, matching consensus and slowing from the prior month's 0.3% increase.
The cooler-than-expected PPI data brought some relief to market participants a day after yet another hot consumer price index (CPI) report led to heavy selling on Wall Street and the dialing back of interest rate cut expectations.
