In Massive Wall Street Rally; Dow Gains 827 Points

U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Thursday as investors pulled back from bearish bets after a disappointing consumer prices report and as technical support helped drive a rebound.

Energy and financials led gains among S&P sectors.

Markets were sharply lower earlier in the day after the headline consumer price index rose at an annual pace of 8.2% in September, compared with an estimated 8.1% rise.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, gained 6.6% last month, compared with estimates of a 6.5% rise. The reading was higher than a 6.3% rise in August.

"People were perhaps net short going into the CPI report, and saw the report being negative and started covering their shorts," said King Lip, chief investment strategist at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco.

Some strategists also pointed to some technical support levels around the 3,500 mark for the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 gained 92.88 points, or 2.60%, to end at 3,669.91 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 232.05 points, or 2.23%, to 10,649.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 827.87 points, or 2.83%, to 30,038.72.

"It's technical factors," Lip said, adding that the recent steep selloff in stocks may mean "bad news may have already been discounted.

"Going into earnings season, all we really need is things to be not as bad as suspected," he said.

Big Wall Street banks kick off third-quarter reporting season on Friday, with investors awaiting to see how a high interest-rate environment affects their profits.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc rose following better-than-estimated fourth-quarter results.