US stocks react to CPI inflation report – Dow jumps 350 points

US stocks reacted sharply to the consumer price index inflation reading for September, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping more than 350 points and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting new all-time highs.

US stocks rose on Friday as the market reacted to cool inflation data, with investors upbeat ahead of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate cut next week.

With Wall Street seeing an optimistic outlook for the US economy, and investors confident of further gains for equities, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 350 points. The blue chip index was up 0.8% at the time of writing. 

Elsewhere, the S&P 500 gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.2% as both gauges hit new all-time intraday highs. 

US stocks jump on CPI data

The market has awaited the release of the September consumer price index report with greater anticipation than in recent months.

Part of this is down to the economic data blackout occasioned by the government shutdown that’s going into a fourth week. 

What to expect of US CPI ahead of the release was the main question ahead of Friday’s reading. But when the time came, the forecast 0.4% month-on-month reading came in at 0.3%, and that appeared to trigger a positive reaction from investors

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI data showed an annual inflation rate of 3%, below the forecast 3.1%. Core CPI, which ignores food and energy, came in at 0.2% in September and 3% annually – again cooler than economists’ forecasts of 0.3% and 3.1%, MoM and YoY, respectively.

Investors now have their eyes on the Fed, with odds of a rate cut in October at 98-99%. Per the CME Fedwatch tool, bets on a 25 basis points cut in December 2025 have jumped from 91% to 98.5%.

As well as the Fed cut, market sentiment is upbeat amid President Donald Trump’s anticipated meeting with China’s Xi Jinping on trade matters. Robust earnings results also continue to buoy stocks. Analysts also expect cryptocurrencies to gain amid the risk asset markets, which tick up.