By Chelsey Dulaney and Krystal Hur

U.S. markets turned mostly higher Tuesday after the government reported good news on inflation.

The consumer-price index showed inflation easing slightly to 2.3% in the 12 months through April. That marked the slowest annual rate since early 2021 and undershot expectations that it would remain at 2.4%. Investors and analysts said the report was positive, but cautioned that it was too soon to say how President Trump's trade policies would affect prices.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose, extending Monday's rally on the heels of the U.S.-China tariff thaw.

For markets, recent pacts with the U.K. and China offer welcome signs the White House is retreating from its harshest tariff threats, though there is still substantial uncertainty over where tariffs will settle.

A few hours after Beijing and Washington agreed to temporarily slash levies on each other's goods, the Trump administration also cut charges for low-value Chinese packages that it had imposed after closing a loophole known as the "de minimis" exemption.

Meanwhile, Trump visited Saudi Arabia, where he and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed on Tuesday a broad economic partnership strategy and a series of commercial agreements.

In recent trading:

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose. The benchmark index is now slightly positive on the year. The Dow industrials slipped, in part due to a big selloff in UnitedHealth.

Treasury yields edged higher. The benchmark 10-year yield settled Monday at 4.454%.

The dollar eased, after rallying Monday.

Coinbase shares surged. The crypto exchange is set to join the S&P 500 next week.

Overseas stocks were mixed. Stocks were mostly higher in Europe and Japan, but fell in Hong Kong.

Gold prices rose. New York-traded futures rose nearly 1% to about $3,258 a troy ounce.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 13, 2025 12:06 ET (16:06 GMT)

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