Dow Jones Soars Amid Inflation Surge; GameStop (GME) Skyrockets 112% in Market Shake-Up

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes were higher Tuesday, as Wall Street reacted to hot inflation data from the Labor Department ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
• GameStop (GME) briefly rocketed more than 112% on the stock market today, looking to extend Monday’s big gains.
• Early Tuesday, the Biden administration announced new tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports, saying they were necessary to protect American industries from unfair competition.

Wall Street reacts to hot inflation data and new tariffs on Chinese imports, while GameStop shares briefly more than double.

Stock Market Today: PPI Inflation Report

The Labor Department said that its producer price index, which is a key measure of wholesale inflation, rose 0.5% in April, with a 2.2% annual increase. The PPI was expected to rise 0.3% for the month of April, with a 2.2% annual increase, per Econoday estimates. And the core PPI rose 0.5% on the month, with a 2.4% year-over-year increase. It was estimated to rise 0.2% on the month and a 2.3% year-over-year increase.

Dow Jones Snaps Win Streak

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved down 0.2% to snap the eight-day win streak and the S&P 500 lost less than 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%.

Stock Market Today: Best Stocks To Watch

NetApp (NTAP), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM)and Tradeweb Markets (TW) — plus Dow Jones components JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Merck (MRK) — are among the best companies to watch on the stock market today.

Dow Jones: JPMorgan, Merck

JPMorgan is rapidly nearing a flat base’s 200.94 entry following strong gains in recent weeks. Shares edged higher on the stock market today. Meanwhile, drug giant Merck is building a flat base that has a 133.10 entry. Merck stock was down 0.2% Tuesday.

Conclusion

With the Dow Jones and other major indexes on the rise, Wall Street is closely watching the hot inflation data and new tariffs on Chinese imports. GameStop shares briefly more than doubled, while JPMorgan and Merck are among the best stocks to watch today.