Wall Street posts shallow advance ahead of US inflation data

Following a soft start to the day, US indexes closed with gains for a third consecutive day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to add 39 points, and settled at 24,640.45, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.45% to end at 7,013.51, while the S&P advanced 7 points, to close at 2,662.94. The recovery was shallow as investors are now waiting for the US inflation report, to be released this Friday.

A surge in US wages triggered last week's slump, triggering concerns that the US Federal Reserve will have to raise rates at a faster pace, resulting in higher production costs. Financial-related equities led the advance, with Wells Fargo leading the advance, adding 2.7% after the company's CEO said that Fed's actions won't hurt the bank.

Within the Dow, Wal-Mart was the best performer by adding 1.50%, followed by Cisco Systems that gained 1.39%. Oil prices' decline made of DowDuPont the worst performer, with the share losing 1.41% in the day.

The Dow held above the 61.8% retracement of the previous week's decline and above its 100 DMA, but the risk remains lean toward the downside according to technical readings in the daily chart, as indicators head nowhere near oversold territory, while the 20 DMA continues grinding lower well above the current level.