Stock indexes rise on Wall Street after inflation report

By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer

Stocks are higher on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday as investors weigh the latest government reading on consumer prices, which shows inflation is at a four-decade high. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% after briefly shedding most of an early gain. 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 and is on pace for its biggest weekly gain since February. 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.