Stocks initially struggled for direction Tuesday as investors took in the latest inflation data, a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and another day of jaw-dropping gains in several meme stocks. However, a midday burst of buying power helped the main indexes close with comfortable gains.
Starting with the inflation data. Ahead of the opening bell, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures what businesses are paying suppliers for goods, rose 0.5% from March to April and was up 2.2% year-over-year. Core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.4% month-to-month and was 3.1% higher on an annual basis.
