The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.3 points (0.11%) to 36,290.32 points. Standard & Poor's 500 increased by 13.28 points (0.28%) - up to 4726.35 points. The Nasdaq Composite added 34.94 points (0.23%) to 15,188.39 points.
Papers of the pharmaceutical company Biogen Inc. fell by 6.7%. The U.S. government said Medicare will only cover the cost of Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm for early-stage patients enrolled in clinical trials. The share price of Eli Lilly & Co., which is developing a similar drug, fell 2.44%.
The cost of the health insurance company Humana Inc. rose by 0.92%. The company will launch a $1 billion share buyback as part of the $3 billion buyback program announced last February.
Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook) has appointed Tony Xu, head of food delivery service DoorDash Inc., to the company's board of directors. DoorDash shed 2.1%, while Meta lost 0.3%.
The manufacturer of surgical robots and systems Intuitive Surgical reported that revenue in October-December, according to preliminary data, reached nearly $1.55 billion, which is 17% higher than the same period in 2020. However, the company's share price fell 1.5%.
Bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc. in the 4th quarter of 2021 recorded revenue of $1.81 billion, which is 3% less than in the same period last year. The indicator also turned out to be worse than analysts' forecasts, who estimated it at $1.9 billion. Quotes of the bank's papers fell by 9.3%.
Satellite provider Dish Network Corp. rose by 2.8%. The New York Post, citing informed sources, said the company is in talks to merge with DirectTV.
Cost of Caterpillar Inc. rose by 1.1%. Analysts at UBS Bank increased the target price of the company's shares to $250 from $235 per share.
Consumer prices (CPI) in the United States soared 7% last month compared to the same month in 2020, according to data from the country's Department of Labor. The pace of growth has become the highest in 40 years - since June 1982.
Inflation accelerated from 6.8% in November and was in line with analysts' forecasts.
Capitol Securities Management economist Kent Engelk noted that despite the fact that the indices ended trading below the highs of the session, the market showed signs of relief, as inflation was in line with forecasts.
According to experts from RBC Capital Markets, inflation will continue to accelerate in early 2022, stabilize and begin to slow down in the second quarter, they believe. But the Fed will most likely feel pressure from rising prices and will be forced to make a decision to raise (rates) already at a meeting in March.
