The underlying inflation, where price increases on food and energy have been excluded, landed in December at 3.2 percent. It was less than economists had expected – they predicted it would amount to 3.3 percent for the fourth month in a row.
The major banks Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs all reported larger profits than expected for the last quarter of last year. The banks are among the companies that first present their results this year, and therefore unusually great interest is directed towards them. Wells Fargo rose 6.6 percent, Citigroup lifted 6.5 percent, and Goldman Sachs increased 6.0 percent.
The broad S&P 500 index closed at plus 1.8 percent, the Dow Jones industrial index climbed 1.7 percent, and Nasdaq's technology-heavy composite index rose 2.5 percent.
