On Thursday, U.S. stocks experienced modest gains, as positive corporate earnings and signs of easing inflation counterbalanced ongoing trade uncertainties. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw an approximate 0.2% increase. This uptick was largely driven by Oracle's impressive 13% rise in share price, spurred by robust quarterly performance and an optimistic outlook for cloud growth fueled by AI demand. Conversely, Boeing's shares declined over 4% after an Air India Dreamliner was involved in a fatal crash, impacting the Dow, which saw a slight increase of 0.1%.
Economic indicators pointed to further inflationary relief, as the Producer Price Index increased a mere 0.1% in May. This development has amplified hopes for a potential Federal Reserve rate cut later in the year. President Trump reinforced his call for a significant rate cut and affirmed the intention to dispatch tariff-related communications to U.S. trade partners, while maintaining confidence in a trade agreement framework with China. Within the market, technology, utilities, and health sectors performed well, whereas communication services, consumer discretionary, and industrial sectors saw declines.
