U.S. stocks strengthened through late morning Thursday, August 13, with the S&P 500 reaching a fresh intraday record as softer wholesale inflation, lower oil prices and renewed buying in technology shares pushed Wall Street higher.

As of roughly 11:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up about 110 points, or 0.2%, near 53,880. The S&P 500 climbed roughly 55 points, or 0.7%, to around 7,804, while the Nasdaq Composite gained about 235 points, or 0.9%, to approximately 26,825. The S&P 500 earlier traded above 7,813, setting another intraday record.

Thursday morning’s economic reports were broadly supportive. Producer prices were unchanged in July, compared with expectations for a 0.2% increase, while annual wholesale inflation slowed to 4.7% from 5.5% in June. Initial unemployment claims rose modestly to 209,000, suggesting some cooling in the labor market without signaling a sharp deterioration.

The combination strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve can leave interest rates unchanged in September. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to roughly 4.61%, providing additional support for technology stocks and other rate-sensitive sectors.

Big Tech is helping lead the market higher. Microsoft rose about 1.4%, Nvidia gained roughly 0.6% and Apple advanced around 0.5%, while the broader technology sector outperformed the market.

Oil is providing another important tailwind. Brent crude fell more than 3% to around $86 a barrel, easing concerns that the recent energy-price surge will feed into inflation and increase costs for businesses and consumers.

Individual stocks are producing much larger moves. Cisco fell roughly 7% despite beating quarterly profit and revenue expectations as investors focused on weaker margins. Tapestry dropped about 15% following its earnings report. Dell rose roughly 2.5%, while HP gained around 4% as investors responded to continued strength in AI-related infrastructure demand.

Lower fuel prices are also helping travel stocks. United Airlines gained roughly 1.7% and Carnival rose nearly 3%. Rate-sensitive housing shares also moved higher, including AvalonBay Communities and Builders FirstSource.

One additional economic report arrived after the opening bell. U.S. natural-gas inventories increased by 36 billion cubic feet, slightly more than economists expected.

For the rest of Thursday, investors are watching the 1:00 p.m. ET auction of 30-year Treasury bonds. Weak demand could push long-term yields higher and pressure the technology-led rally.

After the closing bell, Applied Materials reports earnings, giving Wall Street another important look at semiconductor-equipment demand and whether the enormous AI infrastructure spending boom remains intact.

For now, the market’s message is clear: inflation is cooling, oil is falling, bond yields are easing and investors are again willing to pay up for growth.

JBizNews Desk | Wall Street

© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.