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▸ US stocks near record highs after infla­tion data lifts hopes of Fed rate cut

▸ Green­back up slightly against bas­ket of other major cur­ren­cies.

▸ European equit­ies mixed, with French index dip­ping as Ger­many’s climbs

US stocks edged up yes­ter­day, near­ing record highs after infla­tion data that investors judged will keep the Fed­eral Reserve on track to cut interest rates next week.

The blue-chip S&P 500 index had risen by 0.2 per cent by early after­noon in New York, while the tech-heavy Nas­daq Com­pos­ite had also gained 0.2 per cent.

Equit­ies’ muted gains came as per­sonal con­sump­tion expendit­ures infla­tion fig­ures for Septem­ber, delayed by the gov­ern­ment shut­down, rein­forced expect­a­tions that the Fed would cut interest rates at its meet­ing this month.

Core PCE — the cent­ral bank’s pre­ferred meas­ure — was slightly lower than expec­ted year on year, at 2.8 per cent, down 0.1 per cent from August. Monthly core PCE stayed steady at 0.2 per cent.