U.S. stocks jumped Wednesday as traders cheered new data that showed inflation rose less than expected last month.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 273.49 points to open the mid-week session at 34,534.91.
The S&P 500 hiked 46.4 points, or 1.1%, to 4,485.42. The index reached a new high for 2023 and its highest level since April 2022.
The NASDAQ index climbed 188.54 points, or 1.4%, to 13,949.24.
Bank stocks jumped on Wednesday. Citigroup saw shares rally 3.6%, and Goldman Sachs hiked 3.1%. Regional banks also saw gains, with Comerica adding 6%, and Zions Bancorporation surging 5.2%.
The consumer price index rose 3% on a year-over-year in June. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a 3.1% increase. Month over month, the index rose 0.2% last month, also less than forecast. On top of that, core CPI — which strips out volatile food and energy prices — also rose less than expected.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were up a bit, lowering yields to 3.89% from Tuesday's 3.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gathered $1.05 to $75.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices soared $25.00 to $1,962.10 U.S. an ounce.