US stocks rally for best day in more than 2 years as inflation eases

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks rallied Thursday to close with huge gains, posting their best single-day performance in more than two years as a slowdown in inflation eased fears about the Federal Reserve's future rate hikes.

The Dow jumped 1,201 points, or 3.7%, to close at 33,715, while the S&P 500 soared 207 points, or 5.54%, to 3,956.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq skyrocketed 760 points, or 7.35%, to finish the day at 11,114.

All three indexes posted their best single-day performance since April 2020.

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

The slowdown in inflation gave hope to investors that the Fed could take its foot off the throttle in increasing interest rates in the coming months.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, plummeted 9.7% to 23.56 with less uncertainty. The 10-year US Treasury yield, meanwhile, fell 7.7% to 3.824%.

The dollar index was down 2.3% to 108.02, still around its highest in 20 years, while the euro jumped 1.9% to $1.0205 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise with gold adding 2.9% to $1,757 an ounce and silver increasing 3% to $21.71.

Oil prices were in positive territory. Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $93.48 per barrel, up 0.9%. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was around $86.33 -- adding 0.6%.