Wall Street ended a directionless session higher on Wednesday as an on-target inflation report largely stanched the flow of Tuesday's sell-off and investors pressed the "pause" button.

All three indexes wavered throughout the day, but ultimately ended in positive territory. They all failed to meaningfully recover ground lost in Tuesday's carnage, which wrought their largest percentage plunges in more than two years.

The Dow Jones rose 0.1 percent to 31,135, the S&P 500 gained 0.34 percent, to 3,946, and the Nasdaq added 0.74%, to 11,719.

The Labor Department's producer prices (PPI) data landed close to consensus estimates and provided some relief in the aftermath of Tuesday's market-rattling CPI print, which came in hotter than expected.

The PPI report offered reassurance that inflation is indeed on a slow, downward trajectory, although it still has a long way to go before it approaches the Federal Reserve's average annual 2 percent inflation target.

Two-year US Treasury yields, which reflect interest rate expectations, extended Tuesday's rise.

The transportation sector, seen as a barometer of economic health, was weighed down by rail stocks in the face of a potential strike. Railroad operators Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and CSX all declined.

Meanwhile Starbucks jumped 5.5 percent after it upped its three-year profit and sales outlook. And Tesla advanced 3.6 percent on the same day President Joe Biden announced 900 million dollars in funding for electric vehicle charging stations. (Reuters)