Stocks rose Wednesday as inflation continued its cooldown in the US, weakening the case for more interest rate rises from the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) finished up 0.75%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added about 0.25%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) led the way up, rising more than 1%.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report slowed to its lowest rate since March 2021, bolstering hopes that Fed officials might rethink their stance that more rate hikes are needed to ease price pressures.

But the rate is still above the central bank's 2% target, and traders are pricing in a 92% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's July meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

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