Trump Media Jumps 41.9% After Nuclear Power Move

US stocks rose following an encouraging report on inflation that could help the Federal Reserve keep cutting interest rates next year.

• The S&P 500 rose 53.33 points, or 0.8%, to 6,774.76, breaking a four-day losing streak.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.88 points, or 0.1%, to 47,951.85.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 313.04 points, or 1.4%, to 23,006.36.

Treasury yields eased in the bond market after the report showed US inflation was less bad last month than economists expected, the AP reports. A strong profit report from Micron Technology also helped AI stocks halt their sharp slides on Thursday, at least for now.

The report on inflation could soothe nerves at the Fed, which is responsible for keeping inflation low and for keeping the job market strong. Inflation is still higher than anyone would like, at 2.7% last month, but if it creeps closer to the central bank's target of 2%, Fed officials could feel more free to cut interest rates to help a slowing job market. Some analysts said Thursday's inflation update may not move the needle much at the Fed given how noisy economic reports have been following the US government's earlier shutdown. Next month's update on inflation could provide a better gauge of what's actually happening. But a better-than-expected report on inflation is nevertheless better than the alternative.

Micron Technology, the seller of memory and storage for computers, rallied 10.1% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said each of the company's business units enjoyed stronger revenue and made more in profit off each dollar of that revenue. Nvidia, the chip company that's become Wall Street's most influential because of its immense size, gained 1.9%.

• Another winner was Trump Media & Technology Group, which jumped 41.9% to carve into some of its steep loss for the year so far, 69.3% coming into the day. The company, which began with President Trump's Truth Social platform and then moved into cryptocurrencies and various other lines of business, is now moving into nuclear power. It's merging with TAE Technologies in an all-stock deal, and each company will own roughly half of the combined business.

Cintas rose 1.3% after the provider of work uniforms and cleaning supplies reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, while also announcing a program to send up to $1 billion to shareholders by buying back its own stock. Darden Restaurants, the company behind Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, rose 1.7% even though its profit for the latest quarter fell short of analysts' expectations. Its growth in revenue topped forecasts, benefiting from both the opening of new restaurants and increased revenue at its older locations.