The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday after the latest data provided another sign that inflation, while still high, is beginning to ease.
The broad market index jumped 15.05 points to 4,006.02.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 33.38 points, to 33,877.47.
The NASDAQ Composite Index added 89.59 points to 11,184.71.
Growth-oriented stocks like Tesla and Plug Power got a lift. Amazon rose more than 1% even as it began a big round of layoffs Wednesday.
Elsewhere, shares of United Airlines rose after the company beat Wall Street's estimates in the latest quarter, propelled by strong travel demand.
Meanwhile, shares of Moderna jumped after the pharmaceutical company said its vaccine targeting respiratory syncytial virus can prevent the disease in older adults.
The moves came after the latest reading on the producer price index, which measures input costs from companies and could be a leading indicator of future inflation, showed a 0.5% decline for December. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 0.1% decline. That gave relief to investors who have hoped for inflation to retreat and for the Federal Reserve to slow or stop its rate hikes.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were up sharply, lowering yields to 3.39% from Tuesday's 3.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $1.95 to $82.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $8.70 to $1,918.60 U.S. an ounce.