(Reuters) -The S&P 500 closed higher on Wednesday, stretching its winning streak to five sessions, as the latest inflation data reassured investors betting the Federal Reserve would start cutting U.S. interest rates next month.

However, Alphabet and some megacap tech stocks traded lower, which weighed on the Nasdaq composite, which finished close to unchanged.

Moves were generally subdued though, with many investors away for August vacations, and new triggers for trading were absent, contributing to an overall listless picture among the benchmarks.

The latest U.S. consumer price data, released earlier on Wednesday, offered little for anyone seeking divergence from the expected path to a September start to interest rate cuts.

U.S. consumer prices rose moderately in July, and the annual increase in inflation slowed to below 3% for the first time since early 2021.

Coming the day after softer-than-expected producer prices data indicated inflation continued to moderate, although not yet all the way to the U.S. central bank's 2% target, supported the view inflation was being tamed.

Money markets now see a 55% chance of a 25-basis point (bps) rate cut at the Fed's Sept. 17-18 meeting, as per the CME FedWatch Tool. Before the data, traders were nearly evenly split between a 25-bps and 50-bps cut.

Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments, said he called days such as this "markets violently going nowhere", adding with CPI painting a similar picture to PPI data, there was no reason for traders to reassess moves put in place on the previous day.

"There's no huge rationale to move prices one way or another," he said.

Unofficially, the S&P 500 closed at 5,455.21, up 0.38% or 20.78 points. The Nasdaq composite closed at 17,192.60, up 0.03% or 4.99 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 242.75 points or 0.61% at 40,008.39.

Shares of Alphabet, the Google-parent, dropped on a media report that the U.S. Department of Justice is considering options that include breaking up the online search engine.

Other megacaps were mixed: Tesla and Meta Platforms dropped, while Microsoft and Nvidia rose.

A rebound in megacap and tech stocks has helped markets recoup most losses from a global market rout early this month after data showed the U.S. unemployment rate surged in July.

Thursday's release by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau of retail sales data will be keenly watched by those concerned about the overall strength of the American economy, Horizon's Ladner said.

These worries had sent the Cboe volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge, to its highest since 2020 just last week. However, on Wednesday, it stayed below its long term average of 20 points for the second day.

A majority of the major S&P sectors were in positive territory, led by a rise in financials. Its advance was aided by gains by Progressive and Charles Schwab, which rose after positive July performance numbers, and Allstate, which climbed after agreeing to sell a business unit.

Kellanova surged after family-owned candy giant Mars said it would buy the Cheez-It and Pringles maker in a nearly $36 billion deal.

Cardinal Health gained after the drug distributor raised its 2025 profit forecast.