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Update: US Equity Indexes Advance Following Slower-Than-Expected Growth in Core Producer Price Inflation
(Updates with new information from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose as bets for an interest-rate increase this year were little changed after core producer price inflation grew less than forecast, helping offset the impact of President Donald Trump's threats of more attacks on Iran.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 50,237.1, followed by a 0.5% gain in the Nasdaq Composite to 25,292.3 and a 0.3% increase in the S&P 500 to 7,287.5 in midday trading on Thursday.All sectors except communication services, financials, and real estate advanced. Industrials and materials led the gainers.The core Producer Price Index, which excludes the more volatile food and energy prices, grew 0.4% in May, slower than the 0.5% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled poll and a 0.7% rise in April. Core PPI remained at 4.9% year-over-year but below the 5.4% consensus.Headline producer prices rose by 1.1% in May, the same as in April but above the forecast for a 0.7% gain. PPI jumped 6.5% year-over-year, the strongest pace since November 2022, from 5.7% in the previous month."This is a Fed that has been willing to tolerate above-target inflation for years, so any notion of a temporary, or bringing back a favorite word, 'transitory' impact from higher energy prices will not be enough to force the Fed's hand," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said in a note. "While several members have voiced a willingness to consider a higher policy target, the majority still remain optimistic [that] elevated prices will prove somewhat temporary with inflation potentially cooling later this year."The probability of a 25-basis-point increase in interest rates to a target range of 3.75% to 4% in December remained at 43% from a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The comparisons for September were 36% versus 34%, and, for October, the data showed an increase to 41% from 39%, implying modest rate-hike probabilities following the producer price inflation data.Initial jobless claims rose to 229,000 during the week ended June 6 from 225,000 in the prior week and above the 220,000 expected."It is more likely than not that this [claims data] is just seasonal noise," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a note. "Nonetheless, this data continues to be an important area to watch."Meanwhile, crude oil futures rose, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent up 0.8% to $93.87 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate higher by 1.5% to $91.35 per barrel.The US will hit Iran with an attack "VERY HARD TONIGHT," and it will take control of the Kharg Island sometime in the "not too distant future," President Donald Trump said Thursday on a Truth Social post. The island is reportedly the gateway for a vast majority of Iran's crude oil exports. Iran's Foreign Ministry has condemned the recent US strikes on the country, saying that it has rendered the ceasefire "practically meaningless," the Associated Press reported Thursday.US Treasury yields traded mixed, with the 10-year down one basis point to 4.53% while the two-year rose 1.6 basis points to 4.14%.In company news, BlackRock placed a $5 billion order to buy shares of SpaceX (SPCX), The Wall Street Journal reported. The company is expected to go public on Friday.Oracle (ORCL) shares sank 12%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, after the company said it plans to raise about $40 billion via debt and equity issuances in fiscal 2027, including its previously announced $20 billion stock sale. Wedbush cut its price target for Oracle's shares to $240 from $275, citing the debt raise.Applied Materials (AMAT) shares jumped 6.7%, among the top gainers on the Nasdaq, after the firm expanded manufacturing and research & development operations in Singapore with a $500 million facility in Tampines to support AI-driven semiconductor demand.
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