Dow soars 383 points as US stocks jump on more signs inflation is falling

• US stocks jumped on Thursday on more signs of falling inflation and a cooling labor market.
• Investors cheered data that showed a big drop in the Producer Price Index in March.

US stocks jumped on Thursday amid more signs of falling inflation and and a softening labor market, paving the way for the Federal Reserve to possibly pull back on its rate hike campaign.

The three major indexes ended the session with a gain, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining almost 400 points and the S&P 500 enjoying its best day since February.

Investors cheered a steep decline in the producer price index in March. Wholesale inflation tumbled to 2.7% on an annualized, its lowest level since January 2021.

Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims clocked in at 239,000 on April 8, over economists' estimates of 235,000.

The new batch of data is offering more signs of a cooling economy, after the Fed hiked rates aggressively in 2022. Markets are now pricing in a 68% chance the Fed hikes rates just 25 basis points at its next policy meeting, and a 31% chance the Fed pauses rate hikes, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,146.22, up 1.33%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,029.69, up 1.14% (383.19 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 12,166.27, up 1.99%

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• Russia's economy is worse than Moscow claims because military spending covers up how much the private sector is shrinking.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• Oil prices slipped, with West Texas Intermediate down 1.21% to $82.24 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.23% to $86.26 a barrel.
• Gold rose 1.5% to $2,054.70 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up two basis points to 3.447%.
• Bitcoin climbed 1.64% to $30,434.33.