wall street

Wall Street advanced Wednesday after a better-than-expected report on consumer prices tempered some of the market’s concerns about inflation.
    The Labor Department’s report that consumer prices advanced 0.2 percent in April after rising 0.3 percent in March seemed to alleviate investors’ worries that the recent surge in energy costs would force prices throughout the economy to spike higher. Prices comes despite the largest jump in food prices in 18 years.
    Wall Street has been concerned that higher food and energy costs are cutting into consumers’ ability to spend. Any pullback is an unnerving prospect for investors because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.
    Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald, said the tame consumer prices reading indicate that businesses are swallowing some rising costs.