US close: S&P 500 hits fresh record high as traders digest July PPI reading

(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting new record as market particpants digested another key inflation reading.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.13% at 53,839.99, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.65% to 7,798.99 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.81% firmer at 26,803.03.

The Dow closed 69.72 points higher on Thursday, more than reversing modest losses recorded in the previous session after the Bureau of Labor Statistics' all-important consumer price index ticked up 0.1% in July.

As for Thursday, investor attention turned to last month's producer price index, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealing that US producer prices were unchanged in July, following a 0.1% decline in June and a 0.5% increase in May. On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index rose 4.7% over the 12 months to July. A 0.2% rise in final demand services and a 2.2% increase in construction prices offset a 0.7% fall in goods. Excluding food, energy and trade services, final demand prices rose 0.4%, leaving the core measure up 4.7% yearonyear. Economists were expecting to see headline PPI cool from 0.3% to 0.2% month-on-month, while core PPI was seen rising to 0.3% last month versus 0.2% in June.

Elsewhere on the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 8 August, according to the Labor Department, with initial claims coming in ahead of Wall Street estimates. Initial claims rose by 9,000 to 209,000 ahead of expectations for a reading of 202,000, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, was unchanged week-on-week at 199,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims declined by 22,000 to 1.77m. Also of note, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate came to 1.2% for the week ended 1 August, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

In the corporate space, the Financial Times reported that investors in Anthropic expect the AI firm to be valued at more than $2trn when it lists on the US stock market. According to the report, Anthropic could go public as early as October, with backers targeting what would be a record valuation for a newly listed tech firm. Anthropic has yet to formally set a date for its initial public offering.

Energy prices were also in focus throughout the session as Brent crude futures shed 2.17% to close at $87.05 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures slid 2.46% to $81.22 a barrel, with market participants weighing falling oil demand amid America' ongoing conflict with Iran.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $201.37 4.16%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $104.56 3.76%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.22 2.64%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $135.55 1.98%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $41.23 1.78%

Visa Inc. (V) $365.45 1.68%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $104.80 1.53%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $417.84 1.17%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $87.42 0.82%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,042.63 0.60%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $113.47 -7.66%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $399.06 -1.61%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $272.25 -1.25%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $30.36 -0.70%

3M Co. (MMM) $182.65 -0.61%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $363.11 -0.57%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $341.70 -0.51%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $496.88 -0.49%

Boeing Co. (BA) $230.33 -0.38%

American Express Co. (AXP) $343.65 -0.12%

S&P 500 - Risers

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $921.37 7.81%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $487.29 7.76%

Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $27.85 7.28%

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $57.36 7.17%

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $94.83 7.12%

HP Inc (HPQ) $31.30 6.90%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $358.29 6.36%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $949.83 5.51%

Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $43.78 5.37%

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) $44.13 5.27%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $128.39 -16.49%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $113.47 -7.66%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $77.69 -5.76%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $158.54 -5.32%

Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $83.94 -4.94%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $273.43 -4.26%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $515.57 -4.08%

Mosaic Company (MOS) $21.78 -3.67%

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $66.83 -3.45%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $206.45 15.94%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $921.37 7.81%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $487.29 7.76%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $358.29 6.36%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $949.83 5.51%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $78.24 5.23%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $134.23 5.01%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $282.32 4.81%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $25.38 4.08%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $210.65 3.95%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $113.47 -7.66%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $29.30 -6.30%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $77.69 -5.76%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $273.43 -4.26%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $515.57 -4.08%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,828.25 -3.47%

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $381.17 -2.81%

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $244.96 -2.69%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $265.13 -2.64%