S&P Dismisses Inflation Fears and Hits New High



The S&P 500 rose to an all-time high on Thursday as investors shrugged off a key inflation report that showed a bigger-than-expected increase in price pressures.

The Dow Jones Industrials came off its high of the day, but still gained 19.1 points to finish at 34,466.24.

The broader index gained 19.63 points to 4,239.18, overtaking its May 7 high after the market traded sideways for a month.

The NASDAQ jumped 108.58 points to 14,020.33.

UPS shares rose about 1% after an upgrade from JPMorgan. Shares of Boeing were higher, but Delta Air Lines slipped.

Video-game retailer and meme stock GameStop fell 27% even after the company tapped former Amazon executive Matt Furlong to be its next CEO and said that sales rose 25% last quarter. The company also said it may sell up to five million additional shares.

Consumer prices for May accelerated at their fastest pace since the summer of 2008 amid the economic recovery from the pandemic-triggered recession, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

The consumer price index, which represents a basket including food, energy, groceries and prices across a spectrum of goods, rose 5% from a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a gain of 4.7%.

A separate report released Thursday showed that jobless claims for the week ended June 5 came in at 376,000, versus a Dow Jones estimate of 370,000. The total still marked the lowest of the pandemic era.

Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were sharply higher, lowering yields to 1.44% from Wednesday’s 1.49%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices regained 19 cents to $70.15 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices gained $5.80 to $1,901.30 U.S. an ounce.