Dow rises 535 points as investors celebrate positive economic indicator

Aug. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. markets surged on Wednesday as investors took in a key economic gauge that showed inflation has begun to decline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day up 535.10 points, or 1.63%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.13% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.89%.

The Commerce Department's July Consumer Price Index showed that consumer prices in the United States were virtually unchanged from June to July as gas prices declined.

It also showed that inflation rose by 8.5% over the 12 months ending in July, which was also slower than economists predicted.

"This is a step in the right direction but keep in mind we have many miles ahead of us before inflation normalizes," Mike Lowengart, managing director of investment strategy at Morgan Staley's E*TRADE said in an emailed note to Yahoo Finance. "One month's data point does not make a trend, however, so cautious optimism is likely the name of the game."

The 10-year treasury yield fell about 4 basis points to yield 2.76% as investors scaled back bets on money tightening from policymakers in response to the consumer price data.

Disney reported second-quarter earnings after the bell as the company posted better-than-expected earnings on both the top and bottom line due to increased spending at its U.S. theme parks.

The company reported earnings of $1.09 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of 96 cents, while revenue came in at $21.5 billion, higher than the $20.96 billion expected.

It also raised the price of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as the average revenue per user for Disney+ fell by 5% in the quarter in the United States and Canada as more customers signed up for cheaper multi-product offerings.

Shares of Disney were up 3.97% at the end of regular trading and rose more than 5% after hours.

Tesla stock also rose 3.89% as CEO Elon Musk sold $6.9 billion worth of the company's stock late Tuesday after he said he was done selling shares of the company as he said he wanted to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock if he's forced to proceed with his deal to acquire Twitter.

Shares of Coinbase rose 7.37% Wednesday amid a broader rally after the cryptocurrency exchange reported lower-than-expected earnings Tuesday.