US stocks trade with modest gains on easing inflation fears

Major US equity indices opened with modest gains on Wednesday and were being supported by the incoming data, pointing to no significant pick-up in inflation.

Against the backdrop of yesterday's subdued consumer inflation figures, the latest PPI print came in to show a rise of 0.2% in wholesale prices during February. The reading was above 0.1% anticipated, but down from the 0.4% increase in January. 

Separately, the US retail sales unexpectedly contracted 0.1% and marked its third straight monthly decline in February, soothing concerns that the Fed might opt for an aggressive monetary policy tightening cycle.

Today's gains indicated a rebound from previous session's bumpy slide, triggered by Rex Tillerson's ouster as the US Secretary of State and reviving global trade war fears. 

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed around 30-points to 25,040 and the broader S&P 500 Index added nearly 3-points to 2,768. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5-points to 7,515.