Dow shoots up nearly 900 on better-than-expected inflation report

Wall Street’s main indexes opened sharply higher on Thursday as data showed consumer prices increased less than expected in October, spurring hopes that the Federal Reserve might scale down the size of its future interest rate hikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 749.97 points, or 2.31%, at the open and shot up to nearly 900, to 33,398, by 10 am EST.

The S&P 500 opened higher by 111.32 points, or 2.97%, at 3,859.89, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 515.99 points, or 4.98%, to 10,869.17 at the opening bell. 

The consumer price index rose 0.4% in October, the same increase in the prior month, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI would advance 0.6%.

CPI rose 7.7% in October on an annual basis, down from 8.2% the prior month, as headline inflation fell below 8% for the first time since February.