• The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose Tuesday, on track for their first win in three sessions.
  • Stocks rose after March core consumer prices showed moderation from February. 
  • Headline consumer price inflation in March was 8.5% vs. 8.4% estimate

US stocks climbed Tuesday as investors took some solace from the core Consumer Price Index reading that fell slightly below expectations. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the consumer price index in March accelerated 8.5% year-over-year, the fastest increase since December 1981. The print matched a Bloomberg consensus estimate and rose from February's 7.9% rate.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite moved on course to snap a two-session run of losses as investors appeared to zero in on the 6.5% March reading of core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy prices. That was just below a 6.6% consensus estimate from Econoday. Core prices in March rose 0.3% month-over-month, slower than 0.5% in February. 

"If there is one silver lining from today's report, it's that core inflation – as opposed to the headline 8.5% annual inflation – has moderated somewhat. Despite the fact that energy, food and other essential items hit consumers hard, they are all stripped out of the core calculation that the Federal Reserve follows more closely," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance, in a note Tuesday. 

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. open on Tuesday:    

"Given that the Fed is more likely to pay attention to the core number, today's report could be short-term good news for the stock and bond markets," Zaccarelli wrote. 

Around the markets, Russian Railways became the first company to officially default in the country, hurt by Western sanctions after Moscow launched a war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, a global credit committee has been asked to rule on Russia's bond default. 

"The Big Short" investor Michael Burry warned in a now-deleted tweet late Monday that US stocks are heavily overvalued and poised to slide. 

Oil prices pushed higher. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 4% to $98.04 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 4.1% to $102.49.

Gold rose 0.9% to $1,966.50 per ounce. The 10-year yield fell 7 basis points to 2.71%. 

Bitcoin picked up 2.8% to trade at $40,329.26.

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