Wall Street stocks mostly climbed on Wednesday as better inflation data offset worries about stalled talks between political leaders that have raised fears of a US default.

The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 4.9 percent from a year ago in April, just slightly lower than March's 5.0 percent figure.

While the report showed that inflation was still well above the Federal Reserve's target, analysts said the improvement may be good enough to halt additional rate hikes.

The Dow Jones ended 0.1 percent lower at 33,531.

The S&P 500 added 0.5 percent at 4,137, while the Nasdaq gained 1.0 percent to 12,306.

But the debt ceiling impasse is becoming more of a worry to investors, said FHN Financial's Chris Low, noting that "the politics make compromise even more difficult to achieve."

Among individual companies, Google parent Alphabet shot up 4.0 percent after it showcased the company's Bard artificial intelligence programme at its annual developers conference, parrying efforts by rival Microsoft.

Airbnb slid 10.9 percent on disappointment over the travel platform's second-quarter outlook.

Icahn Enterprises plunged 15.1 percent after it disclosed that it was contacted by Justice Department officials earlier this month for information about its corporate governance and securities offerings. This came just after short selling firm Hindenburg Research criticised the business. (AFP)