Stocks finished higher Wednesday, with the three major indexes closing at record highs, as investors reacted to a crucial April inflation report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 349 points, or 0.88%, to finish 39,908, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.17% to 5,308.15 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.40% to 16,742.39.
All three major averages closed at records. Year to date, this is the 23rd record close for the S&P 500, the 18th for the Dow and eighth for the Nasdaq, according to CNBC.
Nvidia shares climbed 3.58% to $946.30, while SuperMicro skyrocketed nearly 16% to $952.36.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) beat Wall Street's third-quarter forecasts, even though earnings and revenue were down significantly from a year ago. Shares were up 4.9% in after-hours trading.
Updated at 3:00 PM EDT
S&P 5,300
The S&P 500 passed the 5,300 point mark for the first time on record Wednesday, extending its year-to-date advance to 11%, as Treasury yields slumped and the dollar retreated following a softer-than-expected April inflation report.
The benchmark was last seen 54 points, or 1.03% higher on the session was the Dow rose 0.7% to 39,832.76 points. The Nasdaq, which also hit a fresh record high, was last marked 217 points, or 1.3% higher, from last night's close.
S&P BRIEFLY TOPS 5,300 FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON CPI GAINS, NOW UP MORE THAN 11% YTD pic.twitter.com/Nnt1ei8jhy
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) May 15, 2024
Updated at 11:07 AM EDT
Building gains
The S&P 500 is now trading 0.71% higher on the session at 5,283.90 points, with a new intra-day peak of 5,284.50 points, while the Nasdaq is up 0.84% at 16,165.17 points.
The Dow is now just 233 points from breaching the 40,000 mark, having risen 0.5% from last night's close, with Salesforce CRM, Home Depot HD and UnitedHealth Group UNH pacing gains.
In 2024, the S&P 500 $SPY has already hit new all-time highs 23 times.
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) May 15, 2024
Updated at 9:38 AM EDT
Record open
The S&P 500 hit a fresh record peak at the start of trading, and was last marked 30.5 points, or 0.58% higher, in the opening minutes of trading.
The rate-sensitive Nasdaq, meanwhile, also extended its record high-close from last night to rise 105 points, or 0.62%, as 2-year Treasury note yields eased to 4.755%.
The Dow, meanwhile, was marked 223 points higher and now sits less than 250 points from the 40,000 mark.
S&P 500 all-time high.@CNBC pic.twitter.com/ZXWj3o5aHb
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) May 15, 2024
Updated at 8:55 AM EDT
Retail therapy?
Retail sales for the month of April were flat when compared to March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, with an overall spending tally of $705.2 billion.
The co-called control group reading, meanwhile, which feeds into the government's GDP calculations fell 0.3%, suggesting a real pullback in overall consumer spending.
Updated at 8:46 AM EDT
Inflation progress
The Fed got some long-awaited inflation relief with a softer-than-expected April inflation report that showed an easing in price pressures across the board.
Headline CPI eased to 3.4%, with a monthly increase of of just 0.3%, while core price pressures slowed to 3.6%.
Stocks got a big boost from the reading, with futures tied to the S&P 500 indicating a 23 point gain and those tied to the Dow suggesting a 150 point advance. The Nasdaq is called 76 points higher.
Benchmark 10-year note yields fell 5 basis points to 4.365% while 2-year notes fell to 4.712%.
The U.S. dollar index, meanwhile, was marked 0.54% lower against a basket of its global peers at 104.44, the lowest in nearly two months.
"Supercore” CPI (core services less housing) +0.42% month/month in April vs. +0.65% prior pic.twitter.com/WEWTMb8rJP
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) May 15, 2024
Updated at 7:56 AM EDT
Game Stopped?
GameStop shares were last marked 9.75% lower in early trading, indicating an opening bell price of $43.51 each, in a move that may suggest some of the earlier meme-stock surge is starting to fade.
Will the SEC Investigate Some Reddit Users Concerning GameStop? IMHO, Probably. Will the Investigations Lead to SEC Enforcement Actions? IMHO, Probably Not.
— John Reed Stark (@JohnReedStark) May 14, 2024
It looks like the Reddit/GameStop gang is at it again. Shares of GameStop soared yesterday more than 74% following the… pic.twitter.com/Ry0iPXAvLF
Updated at 7:02 AM EDT
AMC Swap
AMC Entertainment, one of the meme stocks that has been rocketing since the infamous Roaring Kitty imagine sparked renewed retail interest in a handful of names, turned lower Wednesday after the theater chain arranged a debt-for-equity swap.
AMC, (AMC) whose shares have risen more than 130% since trading started Monday, said it would swap 23.3 million Class A shares for around $164 million in subordinated debt, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
AMC shares were last marked more than 8% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $6.18 each.
Stock Market Today
Stocks closed firmly higher last night, with the Nasdaq notching a fresh all-time high, even as a hotter-than-expected factory gate inflation report rattled investors looking to today's consumer price index reading.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also struck a hawkish chord during an banking event in Amsterdam Tuesday, where he said he was "less confident" than he was earlier in the year on the prospects for slowing inflation.
That reaction, as well as the market's willingness to power through a hot producer price index reading, suggests a firm focus on today's consumer price inflation report, which is expected to show a modest uptick in monthly price pressures and a muted decline in the year-on-year reading.
"We believe the market will take comfort from a report that meets consensus estimates or is lower than consensus, as this will suggest a continued step lower on the month-over-month core CPI trend," said John Madziyire, senior portfolio manager and head of U.S. Treasuries and TIPS at Vanguard.
Related: Stocks on inflation watch as S&P 500 tests record
Benchmark 10-year note yields eased to 4.42% in overnight dealing ahead of today's inflation report, as well as the Commerce Department's April retail sales report, while 2-year notes were pegged at 4.802%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.16% lower at 104.848.
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures tied to the S&P 500, which is now less than 20 points from an all-time high, suggest a 2 point opening bell gain.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, suggest a 17 point advance while those tied to the Nasdaq, which is up 10% for the year, are set for a 2 point dip.
In overseas markets, the regionwide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.3% higher in Frankfurt, while the FTSE 100 was 0.23% higher in London.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Analyst unveils new Nike price target ahead of big summer for sports
- Analysts weigh in on Google-parent Alphabet’s stock after cloud event
- Analysts revamp Disney stock price target after proxy fight
Overnight in Asia, the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan index rose 0.51% despite a slide for stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen following President Biden's move to impose tariffs on $18 billion of China-made goods.
Japan's Nikkei 225, meanwhile, edged 0.07% higher in Tokyo to close at 38,385.73 points.
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