01:53 PM EDT, 06/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US stocks were mixed in choppy midday trading as investors evaluated the outcome of trade talks with China that led to a framework agreement in London and President Donald Trump reiterated his call for an interest-rate cut following a soft inflation print.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1% to 19,691.1, while the S&P 500 rose slightly to 6,039.9 on Wednesday afternoon, after trading lower earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4% to 43,040.5. Healthcare and financials led the gainers, while materials and consumer staples were the biggest decliners.

Overnight, US and Chinese negotiators said they've agreed on a framework to implement an agreement reached at talks in Geneva, Switzerland, in May, Deutsche Bank said in a research note.

"We do absolutely expect that the topic of rare earth minerals and magnets" will be resolved, and export controls implemented by the US should come down as China approves relevant export licenses, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, as per the note.

China's trade representative Li Chenggang said that the US and Chinese delegations will now take the proposal back to their respective leaders, while Lutnick said that "once the presidents approve it, we will then seek to implement it," according to the note.

However, there was no evidence of progress on the fentanyl-related 20% tariffs on China, according to Deutsche Bank. "So while the mood music has stayed positive, investors may be wary of the pattern that emerged during the previous US-China trade talks in 2018-19, when apparently constructive in-person meetings seemed to take a step back as the negotiating teams returned to their capitals."

"So there's perhaps a little disappointment this morning that we haven't yet got a bigger announcement, even though there's time to hear the full conclusions of the meeting," the research note said.

The ICE US Dollar Index fell 0.6% to 98.56.

In economic news, the consumer price index grew 0.1% in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The CPI lagged the Bloomberg-compiled consensus of 0.2%, which was also the pace of growth in April. Annually, price pressures accelerated to 2.4% last month, locking their step with the Street's view, from 2.3% in April.

Most US Treasury yields fell intraday, with the 10-year down 5.9 basis points to 4.42% and the two-year 6.9 basis points lower at 3.96%.

"With the exception of shelter prices, which might finally be coming down in line with prior declines in market-based measures for rent, we have a hard time trusting that many of these disinflationary impulses will persist," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a note. "Anecdotal and survey-based data suggests that we should have seen more tariff passthrough, so we may see that in the inflation data in the coming months."

In a Wednesday post on the Truth Social platform, Trump said the CPI report showed "great numbers" and that the Fed should lower its policy rate by a full percentage point.

"Policymakers remain in a holding pattern until they gain more certainty on how the administration's trade and fiscal policies will impact both the real economy and inflation trajectory," TD Economics Senior Economist Thomas Feltmate said in a note. "With the labor market still healthy and near-term inflation likely to drift higher, the prospect of a summer rate cut has faded."