Stocks continued their rally on Thursday after producer price data provided further evidence that inflation is cooling and earnings season has begun.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) led gains, up about 1%.
A fall in consumer inflation to a two-year low buoyed markets on Wednesday and weighed on the dollar.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for June came in at 0.1%, below expectations. Meanwhile, data from the Labor Department showed that the number of Americans filing new jobless claims fell unexpectedly last week.
A slowdown in inflation could prompt the Federal Reserve to ease its rate hike campaign, although the CME FedWatch tool shows most traders still see a more than 90% chance of a July hike.
Another potential boost to the rally comes as earnings season begins. Positive reports from PepsiCo (PEP) and Delta (DAL) kicked things off on Thursday, but the real kick-off comes on Friday with results from Wall Street banks including JPMorgan (JPM) and Citi (C).
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