Dow rises another 500 points at opening as easing inflation calms Fed fears

ISTANBUL

The Dow added 500 points at the opening Tuesday as consumer inflation eased in November, soothing fears of a steeper rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

The blue-chip index jumped 534 points, or 1.57%, to 34,540 at 9.37 a.m. EDT. It soared 528 points, or 1.58%, Monday after losing 2.8% last week in its worst weekly performance since September.

The S&P 500 added 87 points, or 2.2%, to 4,077 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq skyrocketed 345 points, or 3.1%, to 11,490.

Annual US consumer inflation came in at 7.1% in November, easing from the 7.7% in October, according to figures released before market opening.

The figure has been the smallest 12-month increase since the period ending December 2021, while it is a sharp decline from a 9.1% yearly gain in June, which had been the largest 12-month increase since November 1981.

The inflation data came hours before the Fed kicked off its key two-day monetary policy meeting. The central bank will announce its interest rate decision Wednesday and is expected to raise rates by 50 basis points.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, plummeted 13.1% to 21.73. The 10-year US Treasury yield decreased 4% to 3.465%.

The dollar index fell 1.3% to 103.72, while the euro added 1.2% to $1.0659 against the greenback.

Precious metals gained more than 2%. The price of gold rose 2.1% to $1,818 per ounce and silver added 2.8% to $23.96.

Crude oil prices were also up over 2%. Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $79.70 per barrel for an increase of 2.2%. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was around $74.94 -- up 2.4%.