Stocks Gain As Wholesale U.S. Inflation Slows

Stocks rose broadly in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday after the government reported another decline in the pace of wholesale price inflation last month, the latest glimpse of hope that inflationary pressures in the US might be easing, Damian J. Troise reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Every measure of the latest inflation report came in cooler than economists expected.

The S&P 500 index rose 1.5% as of 10:13 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 273 points, or 0.8%, to 33,807 and the Nasdaq rose 2.4%. Technology stocks and retailers had some of the biggest gains.

Apple jumped 3.5%. Walmart surged 6.9% after reporting strong financial results, raising its profit forecast and announcing an opioid settlement.

Bond yields, which have been hovering near multidecade highs, eased slightly. The yield on the two-year Treasury fell to 4.35% from 4.37% just before the latest inflation report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, fell to 3.80% from 3.83%.

Prices at the wholesale level rose 8% in October from 12 months earlier, the fourth straight decline. Every measure of the latest inflation report came in cooler than economists expected. The data follow a report last week on consumer prices that also showed inflation cooling from its hottest levels in decades, albeit slowly.

Wall Street is closely watching inflation data that could impact how far the Federal Reserve will need to go in restraining the economy to tame inflation. The central bank has raised its key overnight rate by a big 0.75 percentage points at each of its last four meetings. That’s triple the usual amount, Joe McDonald and Matt Ott also reported for AP.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic