Wall Street ends up, extends recent gains on cooling US inflation
The data provided more evidence that inflation pressures were subsiding. Wednesday's CPI report showed U.S. consumer prices registered their smallest annual increase in more than two years.
The reports have helped to support the view the Federal Reserve will stop hiking rates after an expected 25 basis points rate increase later this month. «PPI is another confirmation this week that inflation continues to trend in the right direction even as we see better overall labor market and consumer data. That is a good sign,» said Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.
In the 12 months through June, the producer price index climbed 0.1%. That was the smallest year-on-year gain since August 2020 and followed a 0.9% increase in May. Technology-related shares provided the most support to the S&P 500, and an index of tech-focused shares including megacaps gained 2.7% and registered a record high close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.71 points, or 0.14%, to 34,395.14, the S&P 500 gained 37.88 points, or 0.85%, to 4,510.04 and the Nasdaq Composite added 219.61 points, or 1.58%, to 14,138.57. U.S. chip stocks also rallied, with Nvidia jumping to a record high during the session and the Philadelphia semiconductor index rising 2%.
Offsetting some of the day's upbeat tone, a separate report showed weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week, indicating that the labor market remains tight. Focus also is shifting to the second-quarter U.S. earnings season kicking off this week.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase ended up 0.5% ahead of its quarterly results due before the opening bell Friday. «We might have another quarter here where the positive sentiment will continue,» said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz
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