Stocks opened higher again Thursday thanks to another encouraging inflation update, but finished off their session highs as market participants parsed a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports. Still, the three main indexes finished in positive territory — one at a new record high — as chip stocks extended their recent rebound.
Ahead of the opening bell, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures what businesses pay suppliers for goods, was unchanged from June to July and was 4.7% higher year over year.
Core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% month over month and was up 4.2% over the past 12 months.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more – straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice – straight to your e-mail.
The results were softer than economists expected and follow Wednesday’s in-line July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
“The PPI data combined with what we know about CPI tells us that the Fed’s preferred inflation metric, the core personal consumption expenditures index, continues to run closer to 3% rather than 2%,” says Sonu Varghese, chief macro strategist at Carson Group.
Looking for more timely stock market news to help gauge the health of your portfolio? Sign up for Closing Bell, our free newsletter that’s delivered straight to your inbox at the close of each trading day.
This means the Federal Reserve still has an inflation problem, Varghese explains, “but the recent softness likely strengthens the case for doves on the committee who want to wait things out.”
According to CME Group FedWatch, futures traders are currently pricing in a 65% probability the central bank keeps the federal funds rate unchanged at its September meeting — up from 45% one week ago.
Cisco Systems sinks after earnings
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged its peers on Thursday, finishing up 0.1% at 53,839, as Cisco Systems (CSCO) slumped 8.4% — its worst day since February — after earnings.
The networking equipment specialist reported higher-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results and gave upbeat fiscal 2027 first-quarter guidance.
But UBS Global Research analyst David Vogt believes investor focus has shifted to Cisco’s full-year forecast, “particularly the implied gross margin and the anticipated revenue deceleration from more than 20% growth in F1Q to the low double digits in H2:27, largely because of tougher comparisons.”
Profit-taking could also be responsible for Cisco’s sharp decline today. Heading into Thursday’s session, the Dow Jones stock had surged 67% in the past six months.
Regardless of the reason, Vogt sees “any share-price weakness as an attractive buying opportunity.”
Chip stocks send the S&P 500 to a new high
Elsewhere on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 7,798 — a new record closing high — and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% to 26,803, as several chip stocks extended their recent rebound.
Sandisk (SNDK), for one, soared 13.7% today, and is now up 26% for the month to date. And Micron Technology (MU) jumped 4.2% to bring its August gain to nearly 16% so far. In July, SNDK plunged 31.6% and MU fell 16.4%.
Workday stock trading halted on takeover chatter
Workday (WDAY) was another tech stock that saw notable gains on Thursday, closing up 17.8% after intraday trading was temporarily halted on reports that Silver Lake is in talks to buy the human resources software company.
According to Reuters, the private equity firm’s proposed buyout of Workday, which had a market value of $43.7 billion at Tuesday’s close, could be among the biggest software buyouts ever.
WDAY shares fell 16.8% in 2025 and were down 18.4% for the year to date through the August 12 close.
