Stocks Trade With Sharp Gains Nasdaq Jumps as Tech Shares Rise

Here Are 5 Hot Things to Know About Stocks Right Now

A higher close for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq would mark the stock market's fourth straight day of gains.
The Dow has added about 800 points from Friday to Tuesday.
Prior to Wednesday's opening, each index was about 7% off its record close in January.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% in January, the strongest monthly increase since January 2017.
The 10-year Treasury note hit 2.91%, a four-year high.

Wall Street Overview

Stocks traded with sharp gains on Wednesday, Feb. 14, after slumping earlier in the session following a reading on U.S. consumer inflation that came in higher than forecasts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 116 points, or 0.68%, to 24,807, the S&P 500 rose 1.11% and the Nasdaq was up 1.48% as technology shares outperformed.

The leading gainers on the Dow Wednesday were Nike Inc. (NKE) , Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) .

The Consumer Price Index for January rose 0.5%, higher than economists' forecasts of a 0.3% gain. The increase in CPI over the last 12 months was 2.1%, unchanged from a year earlier.

Core inflation in January rose 0.3%.

Wall Street will be looking to the data to help it gain clues about the pace and trajectory of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

"This is a strong number. What's going to be interesting is how financial markets react," said Luke Bartholomew, investment strategist at Aberdeen Standard Investments. "There's a risk that this could pour fuel on the fire of last week's market selloff."

Bartholomew added that the "Fed is now very likely to follow through on its plan to raise rates again in March."

The 10-year Treasury note yield rose to 2.91% on Wednesday, a four-year high.

The Cboe's Volatility Index, often referred to as the "fear gauge," fell back below 20.

U.S. retail sales in January fell 0.3%; economists had expected a gain of 0.2%.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) jumped 14.3% on Wednesday after the restaurant company named Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol as its new chief executive.

Niccol, who has run Taco Bell, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) , for three years, will succeed Chipotle founder Steve Ells on March 5.

Fossil Group Inc. (FOSL) soared 71.6% after the watchmaker reported a better-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter.

Adjusted earnings in the quarter were 64 cents a share, down from $1.03 a share a year earlier but well above analysts' expectations of 40 cents. Sales fell 4% in the quarter to $921 million but beat estimates of $889.6 million.

Groupon Inc. (GRPN) tumbled 11% on Wednesday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that came in below Wall Street forecasts.

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) signed a five-year deal with hit television producer Ryan Murphy, with some reports saying the deal was worth as much as $300 million. Netflix rose 3.5%.

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) soared 11.7% after the San Francisco biotechnology company unveiled a collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) for Nektar's lead immuno-oncology program, NKTR-214.

Earnings are expected after Wednesday's closing bell from Cisco and Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) .

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