Wall Street rose Wednesday as traders locked in their final moves ahead of a report on inflation, which could show whether all the excitement that’s vaulted stocks toward records is warranted.

The S&P 500 gained 0.6% to pull within 0.3% of its all-time high set two years ago. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8%.

The market’s focus is on Thursday, when the U.S. government will release its latest monthly update on inflation at the consumer level. A cooldown there from its peak in the summer of 2022 has raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates sharply this year. That in turn has sent Treasury yields easing in the bond market and stock prices rallying.

Economists expect Thursday’s report to show prices paid by U.S. consumers were 3.2% higher in December than a year earlier, according to FactSet.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury has already slumped well below its perch above 5% in October on strong hopes for rate cuts. It edged a bit higher Wednesday, up to 4.03% from 4.02% late Tuesday.

On Wall Street, Boeing’s stock stabilized after slumping earlier in the week following the in-flight blowout of one of its planes flying for Alaska Airlines. It rose 0.9%.

The big companies in the S&P 500 are set to begin reporting their results for the last three months of 2023 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, JPMorgan Chase and UnitedHealth Group will be among that day’s headliners.

Some of Wall Street’s heavier losses Wednesday came from stocks of oil-and-gas companies. Exxon Mobil sank 1%, and Devon dropped 1.9%.

Crude prices fell after giving up gains from earlier in the day. A barrel of benchmark U.S. oil dropped 87 cents to $71.37 and is down roughly 3% for the week. Brent crude, the international standard, sank 79 cents to $76.80 per barrel. The price of natural gas also slumped.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 26.95 points to 4,783.45. The Dow gained 170.57 to 37,695.73, and the Nasdaq climbed 111.94 to 14,969.65.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was swinging around $46,000 shortly after the Securities and Exchange Commission said it would allow for the trading of exchange-traded funds that hold actual bitcoins, instead of just futures contracts related to them.

Wheat for March rose 0.75 cent at $6.1075 a bushel; March corn was up 0.25 cent at $4.595 a bushel, March oats gained 6 cents at $3.855 a bushel; while January soybeans lost 12.75 cents at $12.2875 a bushel.

— Associated Press