Stocks are higher in early trading, with the government’s better-than-expected consumer price report easing some concerns about inflation.

The Labor Department’s report Wednesday that consumer prices rose 0.2 percent last month alleviated Wall Street’s worries about a big spike in consumer inflation due to the recent surge in energy costs.

In the first minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 42 points at the 12,874 level.