Wall St. Climbs Back

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rose as investors digested a stronger-than-expected inflation data and a surprise drop in January retail sales. The data shifted the focus from rising inflation to the prospect of stagflation.
The Labor Department’s core Consumer Price Index excludes the volatile food and energy components. It increased 0.3 percent in January, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast an increase of 0.2 percent. However, the year-on-year rise was unchanged at 1.8 percent.