(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)
US equity indexes traded mixed after a soft producer price inflation print boosted the odds of a monetary policy pause for the sixth consecutive time, while crude oil prices declined.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6% to 26,736.2, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 7,781.4 after midday Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 53,697.7 as a sharp sell-off in Cisco (CSCO) weighed on the equal-weighted index.
Real estate and technology topped gainers, while industrials and materials led decliners.
Cisco slumped 8.3%, one of the worst performers in the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The tech giant reported flat fiscal Q4 services revenue at $3.79 billion, missing the FactSet-polled consensus of $3.81 billion. On a non-GAAP basis, product gross margin fell to 64.8% from 67.5% a year ago, weighing on total gross margin.
The Producer Price Index held steady in July, following a 0.1% decrease in June, versus the 0.2% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, amid sliding energy and food prices. Excluding food and energy, core PPI climbed 0.2%, below the 0.3% gain anticipated and a 0.4% increase in June.
The probability of the Federal Reserve extending its policy pause to September jumped to 66% on Thursday, from 59% a day ago and 45% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down 4.9 basis points to 4.64% and the two-year lower by 5.4 basis points to 4.15%.
The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract dropped 1.4% to $82.15 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 1.2% to $87.95 per barrel.
The Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management," the recently appointed head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit said Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump said the US had "total control" of the waterway, Reuters reported.