Stock Market Today: Encouraging Inflation Data Sparks Stunning Stock Rally

The latest inflation data catapulted stocks higher out of the gate on Wednesday, with the major market indexes rallying hard into the close.

Ahead of this morning's opening bell, the Labor Department said its consumer price index (CPI) rose 8.5% year-over-year in July, down from June's reading of 9.1%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 5.9% over the year-ago period. On a month-to-month basis, CPI was flat, while the core consumer price index was up 0.3%. 

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Both the headline inflation reading and the core one were lower will affect the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy decisions.