U.S. stock indexes edged higher on Thursday, supported by fresh signs that inflation may be easing. By early afternoon, the S&P 500 had risen 0.3%, sitting just under 2% from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 61 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite also climbed 0.3%.
Oracle helped lift the broader market with a strong performance, surging 13.8% after delivering better-than-expected earnings and revenue. CEO Safra Catz boosted investor confidence by forecasting significantly stronger revenue growth for the company’s upcoming fiscal year.
This gain helped counterbalance a 4.6% drop in Boeing shares following a tragic crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft, operated by Air India and bound for London, went down shortly after departing from Ahmedabad airport with 242 people aboard. It crashed into a nearby residential area, and the cause remains under investigation.
Chime Financial made a strong public debut on the Nasdaq, with its stock leaping 46% shortly after trading began.
The overall market was buoyed by declining Treasury yields, a response to fresh inflation data that came in cooler than expected. Wholesale inflation numbers released Thursday followed a similar trend to consumer inflation data from the previous day, signaling easing price pressures.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.36% from 4.41% on Wednesday, continuing its decline from the roughly 4.80% seen earlier this year.
Another factor influencing yields was a new report on jobless claims. Slightly more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week than anticipated, and the overall number of continuing claims remained at its highest in eight months.
According to Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie, if not for uncertainty around tariffs, the combined inflation and labor data would likely have prompted the Federal Reserve to resume cutting interest rates already.
The Fed is scheduled to meet next week, and markets overwhelmingly expect it to leave rates unchanged. However, investor bets suggest a rate cut could come as early as September, according to CME Group data.
Trade policy continues to add uncertainty. Earlier this year, tariffs contributed to a steep selloff that pulled the S&P 500 down nearly 20% from its peak. Since then, markets have rebounded on hopes that trade deals could lead to tariff reductions. But comments from former President Trump on Wednesday renewed concerns. He suggested the U.S. might soon issue ultimatums to other nations on trade deals, saying they could “take it or leave it.”
Overseas markets showed mixed results. Most major indexes in Europe and Asia posted modest changes, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stood out with a 1.4% drop, giving back some recent gains. Despite the dip, the Hang Seng remains up nearly 20% for the year—far ahead of the U.S. stock market’s sub-3% gain.
