(CNBC) — Stocks rose on Wednesday as the corporate earnings season kicked off with mostly positive results, and traders looked past surging inflation numbers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 345.09 points, or 1.01%, to 34,565.45, accelerating gains in the final hour of trading. The S&P 500 gained 1.12% to 4,446.67, and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 2.03% to 13,643.59. Those moves come after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posted their third straight losing session on Tuesday amid March’s CPI showing the highest inflation since 1981.
Wednesday’s moves come as corporate earnings figure more prominently for investors, who are carefully monitoring for clues on how well companies are managing inflationary pressures. BlackRock, Fastenal and Delta Air Lines all traded higher on the back of better-than-expected quarterly results. Delta also got a boost after the airline said it expects to return to profitability this quarter.