U.S. Stocks Likely To See Early Rally After Tamer Than Expected Inflation Data

Following the notable pullback seen in the previous session, stocks are likely to show a substantial move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures spiking by 822 points.

The futures soared following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing a smaller than expected monthly increase in consumer prices as well as a bigger than expected slowdown in the annual rate of price growth.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.4 percent in October, matching the increase seen in September. Economists had expected consumer prices to climb by 0.6 percent.

The annual rate of growth in consumer prices also slowed to 7.7 percent in October from 8.2 percent in September. The year-over-year increase was the smallest since January and came in below estimates for an 8.0 percent jump.

The report also showed core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, edged up by 0.3 percent in October after advancing by 0.6 percent in September. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.5 percent.

The annual rate of growth in core prices also slowed to 6.3 percent in October from 6.6 percent in September, coming in below estimates for 6.5 percent growth.

The data suggests the Federal Reserve’s efforts to contain inflation are having an effect, reinforcing recent optimism the central bank will slow the pace of interest rate hikes as early as next month.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 5th.

Stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Wednesday, giving back ground after closing high for three straight sessions. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the Dow pulling back off its best closing level in well over two months.

The major averages finished the session just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow tumbled 646.89 points or 2.0 percent to 32,513.94, the Nasdaq plunged 263.02 points or 2.5 percent to 10,353.17 and the S&P 500 dove by 79.54 points or 2.1 percent to 3,748.57.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.0 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved sharply higher following the U.S. inflation data. While the French CAC 40 Index has surged by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 1.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.9 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.17 to $87 a barrel after plunging $3.08 to $85.83 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after edging down $2.30 to $1,713.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $23.20 to $1,736.90 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 143.58 yen versus the 146.47 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0132 compared to yesterday’s $1.0011.