US stocks traded mixed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 holding near its record high as investors weighed the two-way pull of cooling inflation and a Federal Reserve pullback on interest rate cuts.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged up 0.3% after the benchmark topped 5,400 to close at a fresh all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) popped 0.6% on the heels of taking out a record of its own, as tech stocks led the broader charge higher. But the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) headed lower, down 0.3%.
Stocks notched records on a dramatic day that brought a double dose of market-moving events: A lower-than-expected consumer inflation print and the Fed’s outlook for rates.
But policymakers’ shift from three rate cuts this year to just one didn’t appear to faze investors, given Chair Jerome Powell’s reminder that the projection isn’t set in stone. Traders are still pricing in two rate cuts starting in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Read more: How does the labor market affect inflation?
The producer price index for May fell in what appears to be the latest sign that inflation is easing. The reading dropped 0.2% month-over-month after rising 0.5% in April.
Also looming large is the Tesla (TSLA) shareholders’ vote on whether to approve a $56 billion pay package for its CEO Elon Musk, a measure which some big investors were against. Overnight Musk said the compensation and the EV maker’s move to Texas have been passed “by wide margins.” Tesla stock jumped almost 5% after his comments.
Meanwhile, a jump in Broadcom (AVGO) shares lifted the spirits of a market looking to AI and techs to fuel a rally. The chipmaker, a key supplier to Apple (AAPL), is on track for its biggest gain since 2020 after upbeat results boosted by AI demand.
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