US stocks close higher as investors cheer fresh data showing inflation is easing

• US stocks closed higher on Wednesday after more data showed a continued decline in inflation.
• The producer price index fell by the most since April 2020 and came in below economists' estimates.
• Retail sales fell 0.1% in October, but rose modestly when excluding auto and gasoline sales.

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, extending gains from Tuesday's sharp rally after fresh data showed a continued decline in inflation.

The Producer Price Index fell 0.5% in October from the prior month, representing the largest decline since April 2020 and a sharp reversal from the 0.4% gain seen in September. On an annual basis, the PPI rose 1.3%, down from 2.2% in September. The reading follows Tuesday's Consumer Price Index report, which showed prices paid by consumers rose less than expected last month.

Together, the two reports should be encouraging to the Federal Reserve, as it has been aggressively hiking interest rates over the past 18 months in a bid to tame inflation without plunging the economy into a recession.

Recent retail sales data also suggests it's accomplishing this goal. Retail sales slowed in October, falling 0.1% in its first monthly decline since March. The dip was less than forecasts for a 0.3% drop, and excluding auto sales and gasoline, retail sales increased 0.1% last month.

"Consumer spending momentum in Q4 will likely slow but the solid appetite for online shopping bodes well for the upcoming holiday sales period," LPL's chief economist Jeff Roach told Insider.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,502.88, up 0.16%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,991.21, up 0.47% (+163.51 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 14,103.84, up 0.07%

Here's what else happened today:

• The US government's borrowing costs have surged past those of developing nations with much poorer debt ratings such as Vietnam, Morocco, and Bulgaria.
• Ken Griffin discussed everything from retail investors and choppy markets to raging wars and a looming recession during an interview on Tuesday. Here are the best quotes.
• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold a bunch of long-held stocks last quarter, and started building positions in one or more mystery companies.
• Tesla is now a top 10 holding of the Mormon Church's $47 billion stock portfolio. Here's what else it owns.
• Some hedge funds sold Nvidia stock in the third-quarter, realizing a profit in what has become the best performing S&P 500 stock this year.
• More home sellers have resorted to offering buyers concessions – free offerings intended to make a sale more affordable for buyers – in order to close deals.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 2.13% to $76.59 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.75% to $81.03 a barrel.
• Gold dropped 0.14% to $1,963.80 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose eight basis point to 4.52%.
• Bitcoin jumped 5.57% to $37,532.