US stocks mostly advanced on Thursday after softer inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold next month. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% to close at a fresh record high, while the Dow climbed 0.5% and the Nasdaq 100 finished roughly unchanged.
Both headline and core producer prices for July came in below forecasts, echoing yesterday’s subdued CPI reading and easing recent worries sparked by hawkish comments from FOMC officials.
Chipmakers and companies tied to AI infrastructure extended their strong gains from the prior session, mirroring similar strength in South Korean peers. Sentiment around future computing demand remained supported by reports that Anthropic is pursuing an IPO and by its recent acquisition of Decart AI, which together bolstered expectations for ongoing investment in compute capacity.
Among notable movers, Micron, Oracle, and Meta each advanced more than 2%, while Nvidia and Amazon posted modest gains.
