US STOCKS - Wall Street Rises on Easing Bond Yields, Inflation Numbers on Tap

WALL STREET - April 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes gained on Tuesday supported by retreating Treasury yields, while investors awaited a key inflation print later in the week that could help shape the Federal Reserve's stance on interest-rate cuts this year.

The focus will be on the March reading of the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI), due on Wednesday, that is expected to show a rise in headline inflation to 3.4% year-on-year, from 3.2% in February.

The core figure, which excludes volatile components such as food and energy, is expected to ease to 3.7% year-on-year, versus 3.8% in February.

"I would not be surprised, given the underlying strength in the economy, that it (CPI) comes in a little warmer than expected, but that doesn't seem to be particularly worrisome for investors," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

"The overarching theme is that it will cool and that the Federal Reserve will eventually be able to cut interest rates."

Amid signs of a robust U.S. economy, investors have been scaling back expectations for how much the central bank will cut interest rates by this year. Current bets of around a 60-basis-point easing are the lowest since October, according to LSEG data, compared to about 150 bps priced in at the start of 2024.

Traders see a nearly 53% chance of an at-least 25 bps cut in June, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool, down from 64% last week.

Cushioning equities, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR fell, easing from the November high it had hit in the previous session. It was last at 4.3837%. US/

All three major indexes had a flat finish on Monday, as a rise in Treasury yields after last week's blowout jobs report kept gains in check.

Minutes of the Fed's March meeting - where it stuck to its guidance of three rate cuts this year - are due later in the week and could be key in gauging where the central bank stands on policy easing.

AlphabetGOOGL.Orose 1.4% after Google revealed the details of a new version of its data center artificial intelligence chips.

At 9:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 71.49 points, or 0.18%, at 38,964.29, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 15.88 points, or 0.31%, at 5,218.27, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 63.11 points, or 0.39%, at 16,317.07.

All 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading higher, with real estate .SPLRCR and communication services .SPLRCL among the top gainers.

Other megacap growth stocks including Amazon.com AMZN.O, Meta Platforms META.O and Microsoft MSFT.O rose between 0.2% and 0.5%.

Digital Realty Trust DLR.N gained 1.9% after Wells Fargo upgraded the data-center operator to "overweight" from "equal weight", saying the company could accelerate leasing volumes in 2024.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks declined in early trading, tracking falling bitcoin prices. Exchange operator Coinbase Global COIN.O, crypto miner Marathon Digital MARA.O and software company MicroStrategy MSTR.O dipped between 0.1% and 4.2%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.07-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.39-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 12 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 19 new lows.

By Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)