WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, lifting the S&P 500 to a new record intraday high. The Nasdaq has also reached its best intraday level in over two months amid strength among tech stocks.
Currently, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Nasdaq is up 240.00 points or 0.9 percent at 26,828.49, while the S&P 500 is up 56.00 points or 0.7 percent at 7,804.50.
The narrower Dow has pulled back well off its best levels of the day and is posting a more modest gain, up 98.11 points or 0.2 percent at 53,868.38.
The strength on Wall Street comes amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures tumbling by 2.6 percent.
Crude oil prices are under pressure as worries about the outlook for demand are overshadowing the supply concerns raised by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to the latest inflation, which helped further ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
A report released by the Labor Department showed producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in the month of July.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand was unchanged in July after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in June.
Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said the annual rate of growth by producer prices slowed to 4.7 percent in July from 5.5 percent in June. The annual rate of growth was expected to slow to 4.9 percent.
Sector News
Computer hardware stocks are extending the rally seen over the past several sessions, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index spiking by 4.4 percent to a new record intraday high.
Significant strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Software, transportation and housing stocks are also seeing notable strength, while gold stocks are under pressure amid a pullback by the price of the precious metal.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific turned in yet another mixed performance on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.5 percent.
The major European markets are also mixed on the day, While the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved notably higher after ending the previous session roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 6.1 basis points at 4.621 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
