US equity indices edged higher from one‑month lows on Thursday, supported by gains in the technology sector that helped counter concerns over persistently high interest rates. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite each advanced by as much as 0.5%.
Geopolitical tensions re‑intensified after US President Trump said the US would resume strikes against Iran on Thursday night and would “at some point” move to seize the Iranian energy hub of Kharg Island, reversing his more conciliatory comments from the previous day.
At the same time, the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release showed an acceleration in prices in May, reinforcing the inflationary impact of the war and supporting market expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this year.
Despite the macro and geopolitical headwinds, AI infrastructure names extended their recent rally, with tomorrow’s anticipated SpaceX IPO highlighting how hyperscalers are ramping up spending on computing capacity. Nvidia gained 1%. Intel surged 9% after a Bank of America upgrade on the back of sharply higher CPU orders.
By contrast, Oracle fell 12% as the company said it would take on additional debt to fund data‑center expansion despite reporting flat revenue. Microsoft and Meta both declined more than 1%.
