After opening in the green, Wall Street was more hesitant on Thursday, as the latest inflation figures did nothing to dispel the uncertainties surrounding the timing of the Fed's next rate cuts.

At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones was down 0.1% at 38,914.4 points, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5% at 16,026.7 points.914.4 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5% to 16,026.7 points, within a hundred points of its all-time high of 16,134.2 points.

The US markets had initially welcomed the PCE consumer price index, which confirmed that inflation was now under better control in the USA.

The core PCE price index excluding volatile items - the Fed's preferred measure of inflation - rose by 0.4% in January, compared with +0.1% the previous month.

Year-on-year, however, inflation eased to 2.8%, from 2.9% in December, a figure increasingly close to the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

These statistics, which show that inflation is under better control, confirm the 'Goldilocks' scenario of moderate growth and inflation currently favoured by the markets.

These figures also maintain the uncertainty surrounding the Fed's supposed intentions.

Rania Gule, market analyst at XS.com

commented: "It seems that a soft landing for the economy is well and truly materializing in the US. Despite the prevailing optimism, the situation is more complicated than it seems, as these indicators do not give a clear signal as to when the Fed will start cutting rates.

On the bond market, Treasuries yields showed little reaction, with ten-year paper back below 4.23%, while the dollar climbed back to around 1.0820 against the euro.

In terms of stocks, Salesforce gained 3% after announcing, on the occasion of its quarterly publication, the payment of its first-ever quarterly dividend, and the authorization of $10 billion in additional share buybacks.

Best Buy gained nearly 4%, as the group reported solid quarterly results despite a consumer electronics market under pressure.

Paramount Global is also up (+3%) after reporting a 69% jump in its Paramount+ video streaming service, for which it is now targeting profitability in the US by 2025.

Bucking the trend, HP Inc. is down 0.7% after generating virtually zero free cash flow in the first three months of its 2023/2024 financial year.

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