Shares of industrial and transportation companies rose after stronger-than-anticipated economic data.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's composite index -- a weighted average of indexes covering revenue/sales, employment and inventory -- came in at minus-2 in January, up from a reading of minus-7 in December.

Freight railroad Norfolk Southern ticked down after it booked another hit to quarterly earning from charges related to an Ohio fire, and vowed to focus on cost cuts this year.

Booz Allen Holdings shares rallied after the high-tech defense contractor posted a sharp increase in fiscal third-quarter earnings, reflecting higher demand for its consulting services.

Consumer price inflation, as measured by the Federal Reserve's personal consumption expenditure index, ticked up in December. One strategist said the Fed is likely to watch data carefully to see if Red Sea shipping interruptions are feeding through to wholesale or consumer prices. "There's concern the supply chain may add some inflation, no one knows how much," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at brokerage LPL Financial. "They don't want a repeat of the 70s ... that's very clear.


Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-26-24 1802ET