U.S. stocks ripped higher Wednesday following a shot of adrenaline from an encouraging update on U.S. inflation. Strong profit reports from Wells Fargo and other big U.S. banks also helped launch indexes to their best day in two months.

U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday, with all three major indexes registering their biggest daily percentage gains in more than two months, as lower-than-expected December core inflation data and solid earnings from major U.