Wall Street Rises After U.S. Producer Price Data Release

ndices Rise, Supported by U.S. Producer Price Data Pointing to a Possible 25 Basis Points Rate Cut

Wall Street’s three main indices closed higher on Thursday, boosted by U.S. producer price data that fueled expectations of a 25 basis points rate cut.

The Dow Jones, made up of 30 major companies, gained 0.58%, closing at 41,096.77 points. The S&P 500, which tracks 500 stocks, rose 0.75% to 5,595.76 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1% to 17,569.68 points.

Wall Street started the day in the red, following the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI), which showed a 0.2% monthly increase in August. This was in line with expectations and faster than July, when there was no change in the index.

The inflation report aligned with Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which showed a decline to 2.5% year-over-year in August—its lowest level since February 2021 but still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Jobless claims rose to 230,000 last week, slightly above the forecast of 225,000, with an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s 228,000, according to the U.S. government.

Among individual stocks, Moderna saw a sharp decline of 12.36% after announcing plans to cut research and development spending by 20% starting in 2025, which includes halting several drug programs and discontinuing others.

By sector, the biggest gains came from communications (2%) and consumer discretionary (1.15%). In the Dow Jones, notable gains included Salesforce (1.52%), 3M (1.38%), and Caterpillar (1.35%).