This report comes from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open keeps investors updated on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Core CPI lower than expected
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday that after seasonally adjusting, the U.S. consumer price index rose 0.4% month-on-month in December, and the 12-month inflation rate was 2.9%. The core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2% month-on-month and 3.2% for the year. The full-year reading fell 0.1 percentage points from November. Both core readings also missed expectations by 0.1 percentage points.

Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire agreement
Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage release agreement on Wednesday, ending a 15-month war in the Gaza Strip. Israel's security cabinet still must vote on the deal before it can be implemented. U.S. President Joe Biden said the first phase of the deal, if approved, would include a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas of the Gaza enclave.

Markets have best day in months
U.S. stocks had their best day since November on Wednesday as inflation data fell short of expectations and U.S. Treasury yields fell. Asia-Pacific stocks followed Wall Street higher on Thursday. Korean composite stock price index Stocks rose more than 1% after the Bank of Korea unexpectedly kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3%. The Bank of Korea also warned that the country's GDP in 2024 and 2025 is "highly likely" to be lower than expected.

TSMC sales hit record high
Taiwan listed stocks TSMC The company's shares rose about 3.8% after the company reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue that topped consensus estimates from the London Stock Exchange Group. The company reported December revenue last week, bringing its annual total to NT$2.9 trillion ($88 billion), its highest annual sales since it went public in 1994.

Major banks' earnings beat expectations
Fourth-quarter profits and revenue from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs easily topped Wall Street forecasts. JPMorgan executives said the bank will ramp up share buybacks despite CEO Jamie Dimon saying in May that the stock was expensive. Separately, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said at an event after the bank's earnings call that IPO activity "will increase" due to "improving business conditions."

(PRO) Who can buy Ubisoft?
Ubisoft Advisors were appointed on January 9 to review the direction of its business. That sparked speculation about who the possible buyer might be. CNBC's Ryan Browne spoke to industry analysts to find out who might be a candidate to take over French gaming publisher Ubisoft if it does offer to sell.

Finally, a slew of good news for bulls, who have seen markets decline every week on lingering inflation concerns after a dismal start to the year.

Top of page: US inflation fell below expectations in December. To be sure, headline inflation for the month was 0.1 percentage point higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate.

But the Fed focuses more on core inflation because it strips out fluctuations in energy and food prices and more accurately reflects price changes in the economy. On a monthly and annual basis, core inflation was lower than expected.

In fact, as CNBC's Jeff Cox points out, "Much of the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came from a 2.6% increase in energy prices this month, while gasoline prices rose 4.4%, That boost was driven by about 40% of the index's gains, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "

John Kerschner, head of U.S. securitized products and portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, said: “Today’s CPI data suggests that further rate hikes have been ruled out, with some market participants Already starting to digest this prematurely.”

this U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield The rate fell sharply as traders lowered their rate forecasts and is now at 4.655%, compared with Friday's close of 4.774%.

This gives stocks some breathing room. this S&P 500 Index up 1.83% Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.65%, Nasdaq Composite Index Soared 2.45%. It was the best day for the three major stock indexes since November 6.

Upbeat earnings reports from banks also added to the cheer. Their financial performance often serves as a predictor of the economy's overall direction: when businesses and consumers engage in more financial activity, banks' revenue increases, which in turn helps the economy grow.

The stars aligned Wednesday for investors. But just as the skies are constantly changing, volatility from new U.S. administrations and policies remains.

—CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Hakyung Kim and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.