US close: Stocks rise on softening producer inflation

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Wall Street ended Thursday’s trading session positively, driven largely by a more restrained reading of producer price pressures.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up marginally by 0.14% at 34,395.14 points, while the broader S&P 500 fared better, gaining 0.85% to finish at 4,510.04.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was again the star of the day, jumping 1.58% to settle at 14,138.57.

On the currency front, the dollar was last up 0.01% on sterling at 76.14p, while it dipped marginally by 0.02% to trade at 89.06 euro cents.

The greenback also saw a small decline of 0.03% against the yen, changing hands at JPY 138.01.

“It looks like markets are once again crossing their fingers and hoping for a soft landing,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“The labour market remains solid but with prices easing investors are allowing themselves to contemplate the possibility that Powell may actually achieve his goal of bringing down inflation without tipping the economy into recession.”

US producer inflation eases, jobless claims fall

The US economy saw unexpected relief in June as producer price inflation (PPI) cooled off more than anticipated, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The annual PPI rate for June was recorded at a modest 0.1%, down from May's revised figure of 0.9%.

That was noticeably lower than the anticipated 0.4%, and marked the most moderate rise since 2020.

Core consumer prices also showed a decline, with a 2.4% increase in June, falling from 2.8% in May and lower than the predicted 2.6%.

In another promising sign, the Labor Department reported a surprise drop in initial unemployment claims for last week.

Filings for jobless benefits decreased by 12,000 to 237,000, defying projections of an increase to 250,000.

The numbers for the week before that were marginally adjusted upwards by 1,000.

The four-week moving average showed a decrease of 6,750, landing at 246,750, despite the previous week's average seeing a minor upward revision of 250.

Across the pond, the UK's economic trajectory saw a mild downturn in May.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that GDP shrunk by 0.1% in May, following 0.2% growth in April.

Despite that, the decline was less severe than what most economists had projected - a 0.3% dip.

The minor contraction was attributed to the additional public holiday for the King's coronation on 6 May, and the effect of public sector strikes.

Viasat plummets on satellite malfunction, Delta descends despite earnings

In equities, communications company Viasat plunged 28.48% by the close, after it said late on Wednesday that a recently launched satellite experienced a malfunction during the deployment of its reflector.

Delta Air Lines edged down 0.5% despite the legacy carrier announcing record sales and profits for its second quarter, and also raising its full-year guidance.

On the upside, drinks and snacks giant PepsiCo was ahead 2.38% after stronger-than-anticipated quarterly earnings, as well as encouraging future guidance.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $342.66 1.62%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $51.53 1.56%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $230.37 1.36%
3M Co. (MMM) $102.86 1.27%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $256.08 0.89%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $227.66 0.88%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.35 0.85%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $133.87 0.81%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $328.68 0.70%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $148.87 0.49%