Equity markets mostly rose on Thursday as investors welcomed cool US inflation data while tech stocks bounced and central banks avoided monetary policy surprises.

US consumer inflation slowed unexpectedly in November, climbing 2.7 percent from a year ago, coming in considerably below analysts' predictions of a 3.1-percent uptick, feeding expectations for interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

"Although this is just one inflation reading – and admittedly not the Fed's preferred inflation gauge – easing inflation concerns could open the door to a more accommodative Fed moving forward," said eToro analyst Bret Kenwell.

Wall Street's three main indices pushed higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finishing up 1.4 percent.

Large tech companies bounced following blowout results from chip company Micron Technology, which surged more than 10 percent after reporting that quarterly profits nearly tripled to US$5.2 billion as it benefits from the AI boom.

Other big AI players also prospered, with Google parent Alphabet, Nvidia and Facebook parent Meta Platforms all winning about two percent or more.

Oracle, which endured a bruising session on Wednesday, climbed 0.8 percent.

"The sector got a boost from a strong set of quarterly results from Micron Technology," said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.

"The question now is if today's bounce is a dip-buying opportunity which morphs into a 'Santa Rally', or if it is simply a round of short-covering ahead of another lurch lower," said Morrison.

Hopes for an end-of-year rally, often called a Santa Claus Rally, face potential headwinds this year due to questions about Fed policy and scrutiny of lofty AI equity valuations.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent, to 6,774, the Dow edged up 0.1 percent, to 47,951, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.4 percent, to 23,006. (AFP)