U.S. stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday, as fresh inflation data reinforced investor hopes that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates, while retail stocks were boosted by an upbeat forecast from Target

Also on Wednesday, retail sales data showed a smaller-than-expected decline of 0.1% in October, against forecasts of a 0.3% fall, according to economists polled by Reuters.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 163.51 points, or 0.47%, to 34,991.21, the S&P 500 gained 7.18 points, or 0.16%, at 4,502.88 and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.46 points, or 0.07%, at 14,103.84.

The benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq had posted their biggest daily percentage gains in more than six months on Tuesday, after the consumer prices data. – Reuters