U.S. Stocks Head for Fresh 14-Month Highs As Encouraging Inflation Report Caps off Strong First Half
U.S. stocks headed toward their highest levels in more than 14 months as the latest inflation report showed price pressures ebbing to the weakest level in two years, fueling hopes that the Federal Reserve might be able to back off its inflation battle more quickly than Chair Jerome Powell has suggested.On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 270 points, or 0.8%, to 34122, the S&P 500 increased 20 points, or 0.45%, to 4396, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0 points, or 0%, to 13591.The headline inflation reading showed consumer-price growth as measured by the index -- which is the preferred inflation gauge of the Federal Reserve -- slowed to 3.8% in May on a 12-month basis, the slowest such increase since April 2021. May consumer price index data released earlier this month showed the headline rate falling to 4%, also the lowest reading in roughly two years.Headline prices increased just 0.1% on a month-over-month basis, the same rate reflected by the CPI numbers, while co