The S&P 500 (SPX) index is up today following the release of the December Producer Price Index (PPI) report. The big news is final demand increased by 3.3% year-over-year compared to experts’ estimate of 3.4%. Excluding volatile food and energy sectors, final demand increased by 3.5% compared to 3.8% predictions.
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Investors are excited about inflation coming in lower than expectations. However, this rally may not last long. While inflation data was better than expected, it remains steady, reducing the chance the Federal Reserve will decrease interest rates this year. Traders have been hoping for interest rate cuts after years of high rates to combat inflation. Additionally, investors are waiting for data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which comes out tomorrow.
Today’s news has the SPX up 0.54% as of this writing. That’s a welcome change for investors as the index has suffered a 0.77% drop since the start of the year.
What Stocks are Lifting the S&P 500 Index Up Today?
Turning to the TipRanks SPX heatmap tool, investors can see which stocks largely affected the index today. Financial stocks, which benefit from high interest rates, are mostly green today. The same is true for tech stocks, even if they don’t perform as well with high inflation. Tesla (TSLA) also stands out as a top performer on Tuesday with a 4.3% increase.
How to Invest in the S&P 500
Traders can’t invest directly in the S&P 500 as it’s only an index. Instead, they might consider taking a stake in one of the companies listed on it. If traders expect interest rates to remain high this year, then financial stocks might be worth betting on.
Another option is investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500. That includes those betting on and against the index. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is a popular ETF betting on the index but there are plenty of options traders can compare below.
