The Nasdaq jumped 313.04 points (1.4%) to 23,006.36 and the S&P 500 advanced 53.33 points (0.8%) to 6,774.76, while the narrower Dow fluctuated before closing up 65.88 points (0.1%) at 47,951.85.
Wall Street rallied after the Labor Department reported a sharper-than-expected slowdown in inflation. Consumer prices rose 2.7% year-over-year in November, easing from 3.0% in September and defying forecasts of a pickup to 3.1%. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, also cooled to 2.6% from 3%, strengthening expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting rates next year.
Jobless claims fell to 224,000, aligning with estimates and suggesting steady labor conditions. Tech stocks led the market higher as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 2.5%, driven by Micron’s 10.2% surge on strong results and upbeat guidance. Software, networking, and airline stocks also gained, while energy shares retreated following Wednesday’s rally.
Asia-Pacific turned in a mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 1% while China's Shanghai Composite Index crept up by 0.2%. Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.0%, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8% and 0.7%.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved higher in reaction to the inflation data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 3.5 basis points to 4.11%.