US stocks rally at opening as inflation slowdown calm fears of Fed rate hike

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks rallied Thursday after the opening bell as a slowdown concerning inflation calmed investors' fears about the Federal Reserve's future rate hikes.

The Dow jumped 760 points, or 2.34%, to 33,274 at 9.36 a.m. EDT, while the S&P 500 soared 131 points, or 3.51%, to 3,880.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq skyrocketed 500 points, or 4.8%, to 10,854.

Annual consumer inflation in the US came in at 7.7% in October, easing from the 8.2% annual gain in September, according to the Labor Department figures.

The slowdown gave hope to investors that the Fed could take its foot off the throttle in increasing interest rates in the coming months, and make small hikes such as 50 or 25 basis points, instead of the 75 basis points it imposed during its last four monetary meetings.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, plummeted 8.6% to 23.84 with less uncertainty. The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, declined 6.4% to 3.878%.

The dollar index was down 1.6% to 108.81 but still around its highest in 20 years, while the euro jumped 1.3% to $1.0140 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise with gold adding 1.8% to $1,740 per ounce and silver increasing 2.6% to $21.63.

Oil prices were in negative territory. Global benchmark Brent crude trading at $92.28 per barrel for a loss of 0.4%. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was around $85.06 -- down 0.9%.