Stocks climb after inflation report wasn’t worse than feared

The Associated Press

Stocks are rising early on Wall Street Friday as investors appear relieved that the latest government reading on consumer prices contained no surprises, although it did show inflation is at a four-decade high. The S&P 500 was up 0.5%. The benchmark index has now recovered most of the losses incurred after the discovery of the omicron variant of COVID-19 was announced last month. It’s also close to the all-time high set on Nov. 18. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier, right in line with the market’s expectations.