S&P 500, Nasdaq Pull Back Off Best Levels But Still Reach Record Closing Highs

Market Performance - The S&P 500 rose by 19.43 points or 0.3 percent to close at 6,532.04, while the Nasdaq increased by 6.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,886.06, both achieving new record closing highs [1] - The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 220.42 points or 0.5 percent to 45,490.92, impacted by declines in Apple, Salesforce, and Amazon [2] Economic Indicators - The Labor Department reported a 0.1 percent decrease in the producer price index for final demand in August, following a revised increase of 0.7 percent in July [3] - The annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.6 percent in August from a revised 3.1 percent in July, surprising economists who expected a rise [3][4] Federal Reserve Outlook - The unexpected decrease in producer prices has led to increased optimism regarding a potential quarter-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, with a 92.1 percent chance indicated by CME Group's FedWatch Tool [4] Company Highlights - Oracle shares surged by 36.0 percent after reporting slightly weaker than expected fiscal first-quarter earnings but projecting cloud infrastructure revenue to grow to $144 billion by fiscal 2030 from $10.3 billion in fiscal 2025 [5] Sector Performance - Semiconductor stocks saw significant gains, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising by 2.4 percent to a record closing high, driven by strong revenue growth from Taiwan Semiconductor [7] - Gold stocks also performed well, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index increasing by 2.2 percent as gold prices reached a new record closing high [7] - Oil service, natural gas, and utilities stocks experienced notable strength, while retail and biotechnology stocks also moved upward [8] International Markets - In the Asia-Pacific region, stock markets generally moved higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index up by 0.9 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rising by 1.0 percent [10] - European markets showed mixed results, with the French CAC 40 Index up by 0.2 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index fell by 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively [10] Bond Market - Treasury yields decreased, with the benchmark ten-year note yield falling by 4.2 basis points to a five-month closing low of 4.032 percent [11]