Stocks mostly climb as inflation worries ease

Company president: Vandals after precious metals; Losses snag school bus operations

A benign reading on inflation helped spur stocks on Wall Street broadly higher Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an all-time high.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent, led by gains in energy and financial stocks. Technology companies fell, giving back some of their gains from a big rally a day earlier. The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a small loss after an early gain faded.

A key measure of inflation at the consumer level came in lower than expected last month, helping to calm investors who had worried that prices could rise too quickly as the economy recovers. Treasury yields fell broadly following the report, including the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans.

Bond yields rose sharply over the past month due to expectations for faster growth and the inflation that could follow. The fall in bond prices attracted investors reluctant to pay high prices for stocks, especially tech stocks that looked most expensive.

“It’s clear that investors expect there to be a bump in inflation in the short term, but the long-term view is pretty benign,” said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management.

The S&P 500 rose 23.37 points to 3,898.81. The Dow gained 464.28 points, or 1.5 percent, to 32,297.02, thanks partly to a 6.4 percent jump in Boeing. The Dow’s previous all-time high was about two weeks ago.

The Nasdaq slipped 4.99 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 13,068.83. The index had been 1.6 percent higher in the early going. It jumped 3.7 percent on Tuesday and is now about 7.3 percent below the all-time high it reached on February 12.

Traders also bid up shares in smaller companies, extending the Russell 2000’s winning streak to a fourth day. The index picked up 40.62 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,285.68.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that U.S. consumer prices increased 0.4 percent in February, the biggest increase in six months. However, a closely watched measure called core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, posted a much smaller 0.1 percent gain. The rise for core inflation was also below economists’ expectations.

The latest report on inflation, along with the Federal Reserve promising to keep interest rates low, has helped ease concerns over the recent rise in bond yields, Nixon said.

“Investors are coming around to the view that it’s not a bad backdrop for risk assets,“she said.

Markets have benefited from calmer bond trading the last few days. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.52 percent on Wednesday. It hit 1.60 percent late last week, which led to a sell-off in stocks.

Investors are also betting the latest $1.9 trillion in government stimulus will help lift the U.S. economy out of its coronavirusinduced malaise. The House approved the sweeping pandemic relief package over Republican opposition on Wednesday, sending it to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The package would provide $1,400 checks for most Americans and direct billions of dollars to schools, state and local governments, and businesses.

Banks were among the biggest gainers. JPMorgan rose 2.2 percent, Bank of America gained 2.9 percent and Citigroup climbed 3.9 percent. More than 75 percent of companies in the S&P 500 notched gains.

Technology stocks lagged the broader market. Apple fell 0.9 percent and Microsoft slid 0.6 percent

General Electric fell 5.4 percent for the biggest decline in the S&P 500 after the company said it would wind down its GE Capital financing business and merge its jet leasing business with Irelandbased AerCap.

Videogame company Roblox surged 54.4 percent in its stock market debut. The company enables users to play online games created by others on the platform.

MIDDLETOWN — DATTCO bus company officials have put up a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for a rash of catalytic converter thefts from their sites, as well as from other fleet operator locations across the state.

DATTCO has experienced thefts at several of its locations in Connecticut, company President Don DeVivo said, including in Cheshire and the body shop on Tuttle Road in Middletown, which was hit multiple times between midnight and 3 a.m. by vandals using an electric saw.

“They just cut them off the vehicles. We’ve had upwards of 20 in one night,” DATTCO Assistant Vice President of Safety and Risk Management Frank Baio said. “It’s not just ours — it affects the entire community.”

In total, the company has lost about $70,000 to vandals, he said.

Since the start of the year, the transportation company has been hit by thieves stealing catalytic converters from school buses and vans seven times, DeVivo said.

“I think it’s a ring of thieves doing this. It hurts everyone,” DeVivo said.

Both Cheshire and Durham experienced 10 thefts in one night, during which vandals were able to breach the gate, DeVivo said. “They take between eight and 10 every time they come in.”

Locations being targeted include Middletown, Durham, Cheshire, Windsor and Manchester, according to Paul Mayer, vice president of marketing and communications.

The parts have no serial numbers, DeVivo said, making the stolen property nearly impossible to track.

“It’s a widespread problem,” he said. “These thieves are very quick. They get the catalytic converter out of the vehicle, and they’re gone.”

The thieves are after the precious metals contained within the parts: Two of the three rare earth metals (rhodium and palladium) are worth more per ounce than gold, according to caranddriver.com. They are also after platinum, which is of lesser value, but still expensive, the Car and Driver website says.

The town of Greenwich is also experiencing a rash of thefts.

The situation is even more discouraging officials said, when they search social media marketplaces to find their converters — or the parts within — being sold online. These individuals are also selling the metals to scrap yards, Baio said.

“It’s a crime of opportunity,” DeVivo said.

Costly repairs

In some instances, criminals carrying out these acts parked nearby and cut through the fences to gain access, he said.

Each incident can cost the company more than $2,300 just for parts replacement, Baio said. Factoring in the time it takes for mechanics to fix the problem, reinstall the converters, and complete a safety check, it could take up to two weeks to get the motor buses back in rotation, he said.

The thefts have been reported at apartment complexes, commuter lots, car dealerships, Connecticut Transit site and other places. “It’s pervasive throughout the state,” Baio said. One Dattco location was hit twice by thieves, prompting it to institute additional security measures, Baio said. In response, the company installed more cameras, fencing, motion sensitive lights.

Some are very audacious, Baio said. “They came in while police were investigating and a few nights later.” He has never seen an operation of such magnitude. “There’s been nothing so consistent and targeted.”

There is surveillance at the DATTCO properties, and fencing, but, because these occur in the middle of the night, DeVivo said, images of intruders in dark clothing and masks are too dark to discern.

“It’s a money-making proposition on the street crime level,” Baio said.

These thefts, which bus officials say are part of a “big, local operation,” are frustrating for the company, as well as police, DeVivo said.

With so far 55 vehicles being scavenged, DATTCO officials believe there is a network targeting valuable parts, Baio said.

So far, DATTCO has been able to move buses to where they’re needed because they have 27 locations, he said. If these instances persist, the nationwide supply chain will be compromised, since vandalism is occurring throughout the nation, Mayer said.