U.S. stocks opened moderately higher on Wednesday, boosted by a tamer-than-expected inflation reading and blowout quarterly results from big banks.

U.S. stock indexes are ticking higher on Wednesday following a better-than-expected update on inflation across the country. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% in early trading and approaching its all-time high set last week.

Live Updates Live Coverage Updates appear automatically as they are published. Oil Cools Off 9:38 am Citigroup downgraded a pair of oil refinery stocks this morning, cutting both Valero (NYSE: VLO) and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) to neutral.

Stock index futures searched for direction on Thursday, as retail sales rose more than expected in June and investors assessed more earnings reports. S&P 500 futures (SPX) +0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures (US100:IND) +0.

Inflation is up, stocks are down, and more tariffs are on their way. Trump wants interest rates to come down but the direction of travel is making it less likely that the Fed will deliver the cuts he wants. It’s not clear whether Trump can extract himself from the policy cycle he has created.

Value stocks will outperform growth stocks in coming months if inflation heats up.

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo lead the banks whose quarterly results may offer clues on how consumers and companies fared during a volatile period. The S&P 500 climbed 0.1%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.3% to a record.

U.S. stocks are drifting higher following some mixed data on inflation and profits at some of the biggest U.S. banks.