In a strong finish to a banner month for stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to its highest level of 2023, outperforming the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The Dow's impressive performance was aided by the positive earnings report from Salesforce, while tech and tech-adjacent momentum stocks weighed down the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Despite the lag, the S&P 500 is on track to record its largest monthly percentage gain since July 2022. Similarly, November is set to be the Nasdaq's best month in terms of percentage gains since January, while the Dow is poised to achieve its best month since October 2022.

Investors closely analyzed the latest data on inflation and consumer spending which supported the Federal Reserve's monetary policy stance. The Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle is believed to be complete, as confirmed by the Commerce Department's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report. The data showed the expected cooling of inflation and consumer spending, reinforcing the view that the Fed has made progress towards its 2% inflation target.

Thomas Martin, a senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT in Atlanta, noted that the S&P 500 had experienced a rally after being oversold in October. He attributed the rally to more positive inflation data, which aligns with the Federal Reserve's goal of controlling inflation.

New York Fed President John Williams emphasized the central bank's reliance on data but did not rule out the possibility of additional rate hikes if inflation fails to continue to moderate.

Meanwhile, financial markets have priced in a high probability of the central bank maintaining its key Fed funds target rate at 5.25%-5.50% at the upcoming policy meeting in December.

By mid-afternoon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 319.02 points, or 0.9%, to reach 35,749.44. In contrast, the S&P 500 decreased by 5.63 points, or 0.12%, settling at 4,544.95. The Nasdaq Composite experienced a more significant decline, dropping 109.54 points, or 0.77%, to 14,148.95.

Among the sectors of the S&P 500, communication services saw the steepest percentage decline, while healthcare stocks outperformed.

Salesforce witnessed a significant jump of 7.9% following its positive profit forecast, driven by strong demand for its cloud services. On the other hand, Ford Motor Co faced a decline of 3.7% after the automaker announced a labor deal cost estimate of $8.8 billion and revised its full-year forecast downwards.

Data cloud company Snowflake experienced a surge of 7.1% after forecasting fourth-quarter product revenue that exceeded Street estimates. Additionally, Pinterest and Snap Inc gained 2.8% and 6.0%, respectively, after Jefferies upgraded their ratings to "buy" from "hold."

Market analysis shows that advancing issues slightly outnumbered decliners on the NYSE, while decliners had a slight edge on the Nasdaq.

As the month comes to a close, the S&P 500 recorded 17 new 52-week highs, along with two new lows. In comparison, the Nasdaq Composite achieved 54 new highs and 90 new lows.

Overall, the Dow's surge to its 2023 peak and the S&P 500's remarkable monthly gains, supported by cooling inflation data, reflect a positive end to a successful month for stocks, providing optimism for investors in the coming months.