LIVE MARKETS-US stocks rally after inflation, jobs data

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US STOCKS RALLY AFTER INFLATION, JOBS DATA

U.S. stocks are rallying in the early stages of trading on Thursday, with the Dow .DJI and S&P 500 .SPX on track to snap four-session losing streaks and the Nasdaq .IXIC on pace for its biggest daily percentage gain since November 24 after the latest round of economic data.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7% year-over-year in November, the Labor Department said, well short of the estimate of economists polled by Reuters calling for a rise of 3.1%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish month-to-month CPI changes after the 43-day shutdown of the government prevented the collection of October data and the October CPI release was canceled because the price data could not be collected retroactively.

In addition, weekly initial jobless claims dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 224,000 versus expectations calling for 225,000 claims.

Expectations for a cut by the Federal Reserve at its January meeting inched up after the data and markets are currently pricing in a 26.6% chance for a 25 basis point cut, according to CME's FedWatch Tool, up from 24.4% in the prior session.

Consumer discretionary .SPLRCD is the best-performing sector, boosted by a jump of more than 6% in Lululemon LULU.O after reports activist investor Elliott Management has amassed a stake of more than $1 billion in the company and is lining up a potential CEO candidate.

Also lifting the sector is a 3.1% rise in Darden Restaurants DRI.N after the owner of chains such as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse reported quarterly earnings and raised its annual sales forecast.

The sector is up more than 2% on the session, on track for its biggest daily gain since October 31.

On the downside, FactSet Research was the worst performer on the benchmark S&P index, dropping more than 7% following its quarterly results and outlook.

Below is your market snapshot:

(Chuck Mikolajczak)

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