Current:Home > FinanceDow jumps 520 points as investors cheer inflation slowdown -ProfitLogic
Dow jumps 520 points as investors cheer inflation slowdown
View
Date:2025-04-13 19:18:16
Stocks ended November with a bang, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping 520 points on Thursday and financial markets posting their biggest monthly gain in more than a year.
The Dow rose 1.5% to close at 35,951, with investors cheered by a new government report showing that inflation is continuing to ease. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index — the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge — fell to 3.5% in October excluding volatile food and energy prices, down from 3.7% the previous month and nearly 5% as recently as May, new labor data show.
"Progress, in short, has been startlingly rapid compared to policymakers' expectations," analysts with Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a report.
The sharp fall in inflation since another closely watched barometer — the Consumer Price Index — peaked at 9.1% in June of 2022 has raised investor hopes that the Fed will shelve its efforts to cool economic growth by pushing up borrowing costs. Some Wall Street analysts now forecast that the central bank could move to trim its benchmark interest rate by the middle of 2024.
Wall Street analysts are also increasingly confident that the U.S. will dodge a recession despite the Fed's aggressive campaign to quash inflation. Although job growth has slowed — pushing the nation's unemployment rate to 3.9%, the highest level since January of 2022 — most economists now think the labor market will avoid the kind of steep downturn that historically has followed rapid increases in interest rates.
All three leading stock indexes posted solid gains in November. The Dow rose 8.8%, while the broader S&P 500 added 8.9% — its biggest monthly increase since July of 2022. Driven by strong corporate profits, the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped nearly 11% in November.
"The rally has been dramatic in its move," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.
"What you want to see is that next leg up as we close the year," she said. "November is a strong month for the market, but so is December."
—The Associated Press contributed to this report
- In:
- Dow Jones
- S&P 500
- Nasdaq
- Stock Market
Alain Sherter covers business and economic affairs for CBSNews.com.
TwitterveryGood! (68384)
Related
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Another suspect arrested in connection to planned terrorist attack at Taylor Swift concert
- More cases, additional death reported in nationwide Boar's Head deli meat listeria outbreak
- Colorado wildfire that destroyed 27 homes was human-caused, officials say
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- UNC’s interim leader approved for permanent job
- Don’t Miss Colleen Hoover’s Cameo in It Ends With Us
- University of Vermont president picked to lead the University of Arizona
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Texas’ youngest students are struggling with their learning, educators say
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- A Roller Coaster Through Time: Revisiting Bitcoin's Volatile History with Neptune Trade X Trading Center4
- Jordan Chiles' Olympic Bronze Medal in Jeopardy After Floor Exercise Score Reversed
- It’s all about style and individuality as the world’s best breakers take the Olympic stage
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Former tennis coach sentenced to 25 years for taking girl across state lines for sex
- Little League Baseball World Series 2024 schedule, scores, tv channel, brackets
- 2024 Olympics: Gymnast Suni Lee Explains Why She Fell Off Balance Beam
Recommendation
Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
Lydia Ko claims Olympic gold as USA's Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang fail to medal
Meet Words Unite, an indie bookstore that started on an Army post in Texas
Colorado funeral home owners accused of mishandling 190 bodies ordered to pay $950M
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Would you call Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles or Suni Lee a 'DEI hire'?
Quantum Ledger Trading Center: Redefining Cryptocurrency Trading Excellence
Federal Appeals Court Reverses Approval of Massive LNG Export Plants in South Texas