US stocks soared yesterday as a new government report suggested inflation remained in check, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve need not be aggressive in raising interest rates to cool off the economy.
At the close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 184.26 at 10,973.65, a gain of 1.7 per cent. For the week, the blue-chip index gained 259.62 points.
Broader stock indicators were also sharply higher.
The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 28.34 to 1,326.50, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 87.72 to 2,637.21.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,951 up, 1,077 down and 516 unchanged.
NYSE volume totalled 689.97 million shares, against 742.42 million in the previous session. The NYSE composite index rose 10.30 to 620.93, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.38 to 783.03.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 5.23 to 434.05.
The stock market gained ground as interest rates retreated in the bond market on a Labour Department report of a modest rise in the producer price index, a measure of inflation pressure before it reaches the consumer.
