Wall Street got the gift it wanted Thursday morning: an inflation report that confirmed the disinflationary trend is alive and well. Stocks surged after the Consumer Price Index came in cooler than expected, giving investors renewed confidence that the Federal Reserve's strategy is working and rate relief might be on the horizon.

The CPI rose 2.7% year-over-year in November, a notable drop from September's 3% pace and comfortably below the 3.1% economists had penciled in. Even more encouraging, core CPI climbed just 2.6% annually, undershooting the 3% forecast and marking the lowest reading since March 2021. That's the kind of number that makes Fed officials smile and markets rally.

There's an asterisk here worth noting. Because the October CPI report was canceled due to the government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics couldn't publish month-over-month changes this time around. That forced traders and analysts to focus on the broader annual inflation trend rather than getting into the weeds on near-term movements. But honestly, the annual numbers told a pretty compelling story on their own.

What the Experts Are Saying About the Data

Economists largely cheered the report, though they're urging some caution around potential distortions. Bernard Yaros, lead economist at Oxford Economics, pointed out that both headline and core inflation are now tracking "well below 3% year over year," even compared to already conservative forecasts. That's legitimately good news.

But Yaros also flagged something interesting: shelter inflation had been unusually weak heading into November, which might have made the cooling look more dramatic than it actually is. Still, he found encouraging signals beneath the surface, particularly in core goods inflation. That's the category most vulnerable to tariff pass-through effects, and it appears to have peaked for now.

"Inflation has lost its grip—and the Fed knows it. Today's CPI print gives the market what it needed: confirmation that disinflation is durable and policy relief is coming," Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, said in an email. That captures the market mood pretty well.

Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, highlighted that several categories actually experienced outright deflation between September and November. We're talking lodging away from home, recreation, and apparel. Those are real price declines, not just slower growth.

Roach did note one stubborn area: energy services inflation remains elevated, with electricity and utility gas prices up more than 7% year over year. But the broader trajectory looks encouraging for both markets and policymakers trying to engineer a soft landing.

The Stocks That Surged on the News

So who won in the immediate aftermath? Looking at large-cap stocks with market capitalizations above $10 billion, here are the top performers in the hour following the inflation release:

The mix is interesting. You've got everything from grocery delivery (Maplebear) to satellite communications (AST SpaceMobile) to asset management (Apollo) catching a bid. The common thread seems to be that investors are rotating back into growth-sensitive names that benefit when the economic outlook brightens and rate cut expectations strengthen. When inflation cooperates, the disinflation trade comes roaring back.