New York, Sep 7 (AP) Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street on Wednesday and trimmed weekly losses for major indexes as traders try to gauge whether the Federal Reserve will succeed in its mission to get inflation under control.

The S and P 500 rose 0.2 per cent as of 10.14 am Eastern and the benchmark index is now hovering near breakeven for the week. It has slipped for three straight weeks.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 31,192 and the Nasdaq rose 0.3 per cent.

Technology stocks and retailers made solid gains. Intuit rose 1.1 per cen.

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Target rose 0.7 per cent after announcing that it is dropping the mandatory retirement age for its CEO position and allowing CEO Brian Cornell to stay on for three more years.

Energy stocks fell broadly as US crude oil prices slipped 4.2per cent. Valero Energy fell 2.1 per cent.

Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, fell to 3.30 per cent from 3.34 per cent late Tuesday.

The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to track expectations for Fed action, fell to 3.47 per cent from 3.51 per cent.

Wall Street's focus remains on inflation and the Fed's attempt to rein in high prices by raising interest rates.

The central bank has already raised interest rates four times this year and markets expect them to deliver another jumbo-sized interest rate increase of three-quarters of a percentage point at their next meeting in two weeks.

The central bank has been clear about its determination to continue raising interest rates until it feels that inflation is levelling off or cooling.

Investors have been reviewing economic data to gauge whether price increases on everything from food to clothing and gas are easing. They are also closely listening for any clues about potential changes in policy from Fed officials.

Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard speaks later Wednesday and on Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell takes part in a conversation with the head of the Cato Institute about interest-rate policy.

Markets in Europe and Asia were mostly lower.

China's trade weakened in August as high energy prices, inflation and anti-virus measures weighed on global and Chinese consumer demand, and imports of Russian oil and gas surged, China's customs data showed.

Exports rose 7 per cent over a year ago, decelerating from July's 18 per cent expansion, while imports contracted by 0.2 per cent, compared with the previous month's already weak 2.3 per cent growth. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)