How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday 1/11/2023

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as investors made their final moves ahead of a highly anticipated report on inflation.

The S&P 500 rose 1.3% Wednesday, its second straight gain before Thursday morning’s inflation data. The Nasdaq and the Dow also rose.

Economists expect the report to show that inflation continued to cool last month from its summertime peak. That would bolster growing hopes on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve could soon ease off its campaign to hike interest rates in order to snuff out inflation. Such increases hurt the economy and prices for investments.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 rose 50.36 points, or 1.3%, to 3,969.61.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 268.91 points, or 0.8%, to 33,973.01.

The Nasdaq rose 189.04 points, or 1.8%, to 10,931.67.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 21.40 points, or 1.2%, to 1,844.05.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 74.53 points, or 1.9%.

The Dow is up 342.40 points, or 1%.

The Nasdaq is up 362.38 points, or 3.4%.

The Russell 2000 is up 51.25 points, or 2.9%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 130.11 points, or 3.4%.

The Dow is up 825.76 points, or 2.5%.

The Nasdaq is up 465.19 points, or 4.4%.

The Russell 2000 is up 82.81 points, or 4.7%.