01:23 PM EDT, 05/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday after official data showed consumer inflation increased at a softer-than-expected sequential pace in April.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.1% at 16,687.4 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 5,294.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7% to 39,830.2. Among sectors, technology and real estate led the gainers, while consumer discretionary was the sole decliner.

In economic news, the US consumer price index advanced 0.3% sequentially last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The pace decelerated from March's 0.4% growth rate, which was also Wall Street's consensus, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey. Annually, inflation slowed to 3.4% from 3.5%, in line with analysts' expectations.

"The April consumer price index is a small step in the right direction but it doesn't warrant any change to our forecast for the first rate cut by the Federal Reserve to occur in September followed by another in December," Oxford Economics said in a note.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to maintain interest rates at its June and July meetings, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

On Tuesday, government data showed US producer prices rebounded above market expectations on a sequential basis in April, while wholesale costs logged the highest annual increase in a year.

The US 10-year yield slumped 9.9 basis points to 4.35% intraday Wednesday, while the two-year rate lost 8.3 basis points to 4.74%.

US retail sales held steady last month versus market views for a rise as spending gains at gas stations and appliance stores helped counter declines in the auto and non-store retailer components, Census Bureau data showed.

Mortgage applications in the US rose marginally last week as rates across most loan types continued to fall, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.2% to $78.15 per barrel intraday.

In company news, Biogen (BIIB) shares were up 3.7%, among the top gainers on the Nasdaq. The company and partner Eisai said Tuesday that the latter has initiated a rolling submission of a biologics license application to the US Food and Drug Administration for lecanemab-irmb subcutaneous autoinjector as a weekly maintenance treatment for early Alzheimer's disease.

Walt Disney ( DIS ) will lower marketing expenses for its Disney+ streaming service as it seeks to make a profit in that business, Chief Executive Bob Iger said Wednesday. The company's shares were down 2.6%, the steepest decline on the Dow.

Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) and Grab (GRAB) are among the companies scheduled to report their latest financial results after Wednesday's closing bell.

Gold was up 1.3% at $2,391.30 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 3.3% to $29.66 per ounce.