After the government revealed yet another slowdown in the rate of wholesale price inflation last month, the latest sign that inflationary pressures in the U.S. may be easing, stocks increased significantly during morning trading on Wall Street on Tuesday.
As of 10:13 a.m. Eastern, the S&P 500 index was up 1.5%. According to the AP, the Nasdaq increased 2.4% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 273 points, or 0.8%, to 33,807.
Some of the greatest winners were retailers and technology stocks. Apple’s gain was 3.5%. After releasing positive financial results, increasing its profit forecast, and announcing an opiate settlement, Walmart saw a 6.9% increase.
In October, prices at the wholesale level increased 8% from a year earlier, marking the fourth straight decline. The most recent inflation report’s metrics all came in lower than economists had predicted.
The information comes after a report last week on consumer prices, which also showed that inflation is still declining slowly from its highest levels in decades.
According to CME Group, investors are betting that the Fed will raise rates by a half-percentage point at its meeting in December as a result of the most recent inflation reports.
In an effort to make borrowing more challenging and generally slow down spending in order to lower inflation, the Fed has been aggressively raising interest rates.
The strategy risks slowing economic growth too much and bringing on a recession. That fear has been hovering over Wall Street.
With this week’s corporate earnings from major retailers, investors will receive additional updates on the impact of inflation on businesses and consumers.
Wall Street will get a broader update on retail sales Wednesday when the government releases its report for October.
