US Stock Market Today (Dec. 18, 2025, 1:52 p.m. ET): Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Jump on Cooler CPI as Micron Ignites Tech Rebound
Wall Street is pushing higher in Thursday afternoon trading after a softer-than-expected inflation print revived hopes for additional Federal Reserve rate cuts in early 2026—and after Micron’s upbeat outlook helped steady a jittery AI trade. As of about 1:52 p.m. ET (1:53 p.m. ET snapshot), the major U.S. indexes were higher: the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 48,074.62 (+0.39%), the S&P 500 at 6,792.91 (+1.06%), and the Nasdaq Composite at 23,084.09 (+1.72%). Small caps also participated, with the Russell 2000 up 0.97%. Schwab Wall Street The tone is notably different from Wednesday’s risk-off slide, when investors recoiled from renewed