Stock Market Today: Stocks Lift Off After Encouraging Inflation Report
The major market indexes rallied to their best day in two years after data showed inflation slowed in October.


Stocks blazed a path higher Thursday after the latest consumer price index (CPI) showed inflation cooled in October.
Ahead of the opening bell, the Labor Department said consumer prices increased 7.7% year-over-year in October – the slowest annual gain since January. On a monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.4%. Both figures were smaller than economists were anticipating. Core CPI, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, also increased at a slower-than-expected pace last month.
Many of Wall Street's top minds were quick to chime in following this morning's release of the October CPI, including Michael Reinking, senior market strategist at the New York Stock Exchange. "Today's data is an obvious step in the right direction," Reinking says. "While we have seen false dawns before, given the broader economic backdrop, it does seem this could be the start of the rollover." He adds that this inflation data "opens the door to the Fed to slow the pace of rate hikes going forward, and we are now seeing markets price in an 80% probability of a 50 basis point rate hike in December." (A basis point = 0.01%.)

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The tech sector (+8.2%), whose components are most sensitive to interest rates, were the biggest gainers today. Among individual stocks soaring were Apple (AAPL, +8.9%), Meta Platforms (META, +10.3%) and Microsoft (MSFT, +8.2%).
As such, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite spiked 7.4% to 11,114, while the broader S&P 500 Index (+5.5% at 3,956) and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (+3.7% at 33,715) also scored notable gains. It was the best day for the stock market since 2020.
What Do Tech Layoffs Mean for Stocks?
Today's inflation data sparked an appetite for even the riskiest of assets. Bitcoin, for example, jumped 11.2% to $18,008. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) This marks quite a change of pace for the digital asset, which has plummeted this week on news of a major shakeup in the crypto space.
To quickly recap that drama: Crypto exchange Binance initially said it would buy the non-U.S. assets of rival FTX, amid liquidity challenges at the latter firm, before backing out of the deal due to "the latest news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and alleged U.S. agency investigations," per a statement on Twitter. With Binance no longer giving FTX a lifeline, many are speculating that the crypto exchange is teetering on bankruptcy, given that it needs $4 billion to remain solvent, according to its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.
The upheaval in the cryptocurrency space creates bigger waves for the already embattled tech sector, which is trying to navigate slower growth for the first time in years. Most recently, that has resulted in several big tech firms announcing massive layoffs, including Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META), which said earlier this week it is firing roughly 13% of its global workforce. What do these tech layoffs mean for investors? Read on as we take a closer look.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Stocks Can't Hold Meta, Microsoft Gains: Stock Market Today
The main indexes all opened higher Thursday on impressive Big Tech earnings, but momentum faded into the close.
-
Retirement Health Care Costs Are On the Rise: What You Need to Know
A 65-year-old retiree will face significantly higher lifetime health care costs than they would have a year ago, even with Medicare. Here are the surprising totals.
-
Stocks Can't Hold Meta, Microsoft Gains: Stock Market Today
The main indexes all opened higher Thursday on impressive Big Tech earnings, but momentum faded into the close.
-
How to Invest for a Fall Interest Rate Cut by the Fed
A lot can happen between now and then, but the probability the Fed cuts interest rates before the end of the year is better than 85%.
-
Stocks Are Up and Down on Fed Day: Stock Market Today
In another sign of changing times, JPMorgan has partnered with Coinbase to enable cryptocurrency purchases with credit cards.
-
UnitedHealth Stock Drags on Dow: Stock Market Today
Corporate earnings have dominated Wall Street's attention this week, but that changes on Wednesday.
-
Stocks Close Mixed to Start Fed Week: Stock Market Today
News of an EU-U.S. trade deal was met with muted reaction from market participants who are looking ahead to a jam-packed week.
-
Stocks Rise After Trump-Powell Fed Tour: Stock Market Today
Nvidia hit a new all-time high intraday, but another renowned semiconductor name and some less iconic stocks were bigger movers Friday.
-
Are Buffett and Berkshire About to Bail on Kraft Heinz Stock?
Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway own a lot of Kraft Heinz stock, so what happens when they decide to sell KHC?
-
Dow Bleeds Red Due to Big Blue: Stock Market Today
Six of the official GICS sectors were in the green, led by communications services, technology and energy stocks.