Following a positive inflation report, Wall Street climbs as Micron helps AI stocks halt their decline.

Following a positive inflation report that may support the Federal Reserve’s continued interest rate cuts next year, U.S. stocks increased on Thursday. AI stocks also stopped their steep declines, at least temporarily, thanks to Micron Technology’s impressive profit announcement.

The S&P 500 ended a four-day losing trend by rising 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite rose a market-leading 1.4% due to the strength of tech firms, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 65 points, or 0.1%.

A data indicating that last month’s inflation was less severe than economists had predicted provided some respite. The Fed, which is in charge of maintaining moderate inflation and a robust labor market, may feel more at ease as a result.

At 2.7% last month, inflation is still higher than anybody would want, but if it approaches the Fed’s target of 2%, Fed officials may feel more comfortable lowering interest rates to support a sluggish labor market. Although lower rates may exacerbate inflation, Wall Street favors them because they can stimulate the economy and increase investment prices.

However, given how raucous economic headlines have been since the U.S. government’s earlier closure, some on Wall Street speculated that Thursday’s inflation update could not have much of an impact at the Fed. The inflation report for next month might offer a more accurate picture of the situation. However, an inflation report that is better than anticipated is still preferable to the alternative.

The seller of computer memory and storage, Micron Technology, also contributed to the surge in the U.S. stock market, rising 10.2% after announcing higher-than-expected profit and revenue for the most recent quarter. According to CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, every business unit of the company saw higher revenue and more profit per $1 of that revenue.

Among other things, Mehrotra attributed Micron’s success to its role as a “AI enabler.” The company also provided predictions for future profit and sales that exceeded analysts’ expectations.

Artificial intelligence technology is attracting billions of dollars, which has helped market leaders like Nvidia dominate for years.

However, concerns are growing about whether those stock prices were overpriced and whether consumers will receive a sufficient return on their AI investments in the form of increased productivity and profits. Concerns are also affecting businesses who are taking out large loans in the midst of the AI craze.

These worries have been focused on Oracle and Broadcom, whose stock prices have been plummeting since last week even though both companies reported higher-than-expected profits for the most recent quarter. Oracle gained 0.9% while Broadcom increased 1.1% on Thursday.

The chip giant Nvidia, which has grown to be the most powerful corporation on Wall Street due to its scale, saw a 1.8% increase.

Trump Media & Technology Group was another winner, rising 41.9% to partially offset its steep loss of 69.3% for the year as of the start of the day. The business, which started with President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform before branching out into cryptocurrency and other industries, is now entering the nuclear power sector.

Each company will own around half of the combined company as a result of its all-stock merger with TAE Technologies. According to the firms, the acquisition would combine TAE’s technology with TMTG’s capacity to raise substantial sums of money by luring investors. They want TAE’s nuclear-fusion reactors, which would generate electricity similarly to how the sun does, to go into business.

Cintas increased 1.3% after the manufacturer of cleaning products and work uniforms announced a plan to return up to $1 billion to shareholders by repurchasing its own stock and posted a higher profit for the most recent quarter than experts had predicted.

Despite its recent quarter’s profit falling short of analysts’ estimates, Darden Restaurants, the business that owns Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, saw a 1.8% increase. Both the launch of new restaurants and higher sales at its existing sites contributed to its revenue growth, which exceeded projections.

Despite reporting a higher-than-expected earnings for the most recent quarter, CarMax saw a 4.2% decline. In an effort to become more competitive in the market, it stated that it might earn less money for every $1 in sales of used cars during the current quarter. In order to attract more clients to lots, it also intends to boost marketing expenditures.

The S&P 500 increased 53.33 points to 6,774.76 overall. The Nasdaq composite surged 313.04 to 23,006.36, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 65.88 to 47,951.85.

In foreign stock markets, indexes increased by 0.6% in London, 0.8% in France, and 1% in Germany following the European Central Bank’s stability and the Bank of England’s reduction of its key interest rate.

Asian indices showed mixed results, with stocks rising 0.2% in Shanghai and declining 1.5% in South Korea.

Treasury yields fell in the bond market after the U.S. inflation report came in lower than anticipated.

Late Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped from 4.16% to 4.11%.