NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks crept higher Wednesday morning as investors welcomed easing inflationary pressures, including a fall in oil prices and core consumer prices in line with forecasts.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 7.76 to 11,076.82, Charts) and the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 1.86 to 1,284.90, Charts) index both added around 0.3 percent in the early going. The Nasdaq composite (up 2.25 to 2,265.21, Charts) was barely higher.

Special Reportfull coverage America's cheapest gas is in this town Summer drivers to get a break on gas Why gas prices are likely to keep climbing You'll pay a little less for gas this summer Expect relief from record February gas prices Why gas prices are rising

Stocks fell Tuesday, paced by technology, on worries about higher interest rates fueled by a jump in oil prices, the day's strong economic news and the release of the minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting.

But those concerns seemed to be diminished Wednesday morning.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery fell 72 cents to $62.02 a barrel in electronic trading, after jumping two percent on Tuesday.

Additionally, the consumer price index (CPI) failed to rile up inflation fears. The overall index for January rose 0.7 percent, versus forecasts for 0.5 percent. CPI fell 0.1 percent in December.

However, the so-called "core" CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 0.2 percent, in line with estimates and up from the revised 0.1 percent gain in December.

A variety of blue chips gained, with 23 out of 30 Dow stocks on the rise.

A notable decliner was Intel (down $0.29 to $20.33, Research), which fell 1.5 percent after brokerage ThinkEquity downgraded the chipmaker and cut its 12-month price target.

Intel also felt the impact of pressure on the broader chip sector for a second straight session. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index, or the SOX, lost 0.8 percent.

Treasury prices gained, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.55 percent from 4.56 percent late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and fell versus the yen.

COMEX gold for April delivery fell $2.10 to $554.50 an ounce.

In global trade, major Asian markets ended higher, with the exception of the Japanese Nikkei, which ended lower. European markets were mixed at midday.

_______________

Click here for the latest business news.