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Stocks rose Wednesday after November’s inflation report met economists’ projections, clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again at its December meeting next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial index dipped 16.73 points to begin Wednesday at 44,231.10.
The S&P 500 index regrouped 40.12 points to 6,075.03
The NASDAQ Composite ballooned 245.96 points, or 1.3%, to 19,933.20
Nvidia, Tesla and other bull market leaders led the gains following the relatively tame inflation data. The chipmaker was nearly 2% higher, and Tesla advanced around 2%.
November’s consumer price index, which tracks a basket of goods and services, was in line with expectations. The reading showed a 0.3% rise from October and 2.7% increase from a year ago. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI increased 0.3% on the month and 3.3% on an annual basis.
While this inflation data represented a quicker pace from the prior month, traders speculated it was still not high enough to keep the Fed from cutting rates at its next gathering. Fed funds futures are pricing in a 99.9% likelihood that the central bank lowers rates at that gathering
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lagged slightly, raising yields to 4.24% from Tuesday’s 4.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices progressed $1.02 to $69.61 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold jumped $35.00 an ounce to $2,753.40 U.S.
