NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting around their records Thursday following some mixed data on the economy, including the latest encouraging update on inflation.
The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in early trading, a day after jumping to an all-time high. The Nasdaq composite was also building on its own record and up 0.7%, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 154 points, or 0.4%.
Treasury yields eased again in the bond market as conviction builds that inflation is slowing enough to get the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year.
A report showed inflation at the wholesale level wasn’t as bad as economists expected. Prices paid by wholesalers actually dropped from April into May, when economists were forecasting a rise.
It followed a surprisingly encouraging update on inflation at the consumer level released Wednesday. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called that report encouraging and said policymakers need more such data before lowering their main interest rate from the most punishing level in two decades.
High interest rates have been dragging on some parts of the economy, particularly manufacturing. A separate report on Thursday showed more U.S. workers filed for unemployment last week than economists expected, though the number is still low relative to history.
The hope on Wall Street is that growth for the job market and economy continues to slow in order to take pressure off inflation, but not so much that it creates a deep recession.
Companies whose profits are closely tied to the strength of the economy were lagging the market Thursday following the reports.
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment sank 10.2% after reporting worse drops for profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected, citing a “complex macroeconomic environment” among other reasons. Other companies have recently been detailing a split among their customers, where lower-income households are struggling to keep up with still-high inflation.
Some companies have been able to skyrocket regardless of the pressures on the economy because of an ongoing frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.
Broadcom jumped 14.6% after the chip company reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, aided once again by AI demand. It also raised its forecast for revenue this year.
Broadcom’s stock price has jumped so high, above $1,700, that it will soon give nine shares for every one that investors already hold in hopes of lowering the price and making it more affordable. It follows a similar move by Nvidia, which has become the poster child of the AI rush and seen its total market value top $3 trillion.
Tesla rose 6.9% after CEO Elon Musk said early voting results indicate shareholders are about to approve his pay package. Without it, Musk had threatened to take AI research to one of his other companies.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.26% from 4.32% late Wednesday and from 4.60% late last month. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.70% from 4.76%.
Fed officials are mostly penciling in one or two cuts to interest rates this year, and traders are hopeful they can begin as soon as September, according to data from CME Group. Such cuts would ease the pressure on the economy and give a boost to all kinds of investment prices.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe as leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations gathered in Italy. The continent is still feeling the effects of a European Parliament election that saw a surge in support for the far right in places like France and Germany.
France’s CAC 40 fell 1.3%, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.1%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% ahead of a decision on interest rates by Japan’s central bank scheduled for Friday. Indexes rose in Seoul and Hong Kong.
AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
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