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Stocks rose on Thursday as traders anticipated that the latest reading of a key consumer inflation gauge won’t stand in the way of the Federal Reserve lowering its benchmark interest rate next week.
The Dow Jones Industrials darted higher 449.15 points, or 1.1%, to 45,990.07
The broader index gained 19.44 points to 6,532.05.
The NASDAQ index barely cleared breakeven, moving higher only 6.57 points to 21,812.06.
It was a confusing batch of numbers, with the consumer price index reading for August coming in hotter than expected on a monthly basis but in line with expectations on an annual basis.
The CPI reading showed an increase of 0.4% for the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, higher than the 0.3% that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting. However, the index recorded 2.9% on a 12-month basis, as expected.
Additionally, so-called core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy, increased 0.3% in August and 3.1% from a year ago. Both were in line with the Dow Jones forecasts.
The report comes a day after the producer price index showed an unexpected decline of 0.1% on the month. The PPI rose 2.6% on a 12-month basis.
Also on Thursday, weekly jobless claims saw a surprise jump. The figure for the week ended Sept. 6 increased 27,000 from the previous period to a seasonally adjusted 263,000. That’s more than the 235,000 that was penciled in.
Traders still generally expect that the Fed will cut rates by a quarter percentage point on Sept. 17.
Traders cheered Oracle’s growth outlook for its cloud business, and shares saw their best day since 1992 Wednesday and added $244 billion in market cap.
Traders also saw it as a positive indicator for the artificial intelligence trade at large.
Prices for 10-year Treasury eked up, lowering yields to 4.01% from Wednesday’s 4.04%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 99 cents to $62.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sagged $16.30 to $3,665.80 U.S. an ounce.
