Stocks in New York opened higher on the 19th.
On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average started trading at 48,051.77, up 87.38 points (0.21%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 20.66 points (0.33%) to 6,795.42, and the Nasdaq composite opened at 23,111.63, up 105.27 points (0.51%).
The move was seen as driven by growing expectations for easing inflation after the consumer price index (CPI) released the day before came in below market estimates. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), last month's CPI rose 2.7% from a year earlier, missing the 3.1% market forecast compiled by Dow Jones.
If inflation slows, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) is more likely to cut interest rates. That could ease risk-off sentiment and draw investors to stocks, a representative risk asset.
Still, some are skeptical of the market's optimism. New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said in a CNBC interview that "the recent low inflation readings may have been distorted by data collection disruptions during the federal government shutdown."
In fact, on Wall Street, with the October price survey not conducted normally and the November statistics released, many are questioning the reliability of the data.