On the 13th, New York time, all three major U.S. stock indexes rose together. Investor sentiment improved as signals continued that inflationary pressure in the United States is easing and international oil prices fell by more than 2%.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 50.49 points, or 0.65%, to close at 7,798.99, hitting a record high on a closing basis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.72 points, or 0.13%, to 53,839.99, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed up 214.54 points, or 0.81%, at 26,803.03. The S&P 500 has risen about 14% this year, and the Nasdaq about 15%.
The market focused on the U.S. producer price index (PPI) for July. The July PPI was unchanged from the previous month (0.0%), below the market forecast of a 0.2% increase. The year-over-year increase also slowed to 4.7% from 5.5% the previous month.
With producer price gains slowing following the previous day's consumer price index (CPI), expectations grew that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold the benchmark interest rate at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in September.
According to CME FedWatch, the probability of holding rates in September implied by the fed funds futures market rose to 67.6% from 59.4% the previous day.
A drop of more than 2% in international oil prices also supported stocks. Brent crude futures for October delivery settled at $87.07 a barrel, down 2.15% from the previous session. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for September delivery fell 2.43% to $81.25 a barrel at the close.
Oil prices fell after the International Energy Agency (IEA) lowered its outlook for global oil demand this year. In its oil market report for August released the previous day, the IEA projected that global oil demand this year will decrease by 1.6 million barrels per day due to the impact of higher fuel prices stemming from shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. It widened the projected decline by 510,000 barrels per day from the previous forecast.
However, ongoing tensions in the Middle East are acting as a factor limiting further declines in oil prices. With ship attacks occurring one after another in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels claimed they attacked Saudi Arabia's oil facilities with drones.
In the market, there is a view that, given the persistent uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices could rise again if additional crude shipments are disrupted.
In the stock market, semiconductors and large-cap tech shares were strong. Memory-chip maker SanDisk jumped 13.7%, and Micron Technology rose 4.2%. Meta Platforms and Microsoft (MS) gained 2.8% and 1.0%, respectively.
Netflix rose more than 3% on news that Pershing Square, led by Bill Ackman, acquired a new equity stake.
U.S. Treasury yields fell as inflation fears eased. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped about 5 basis points (1 bp = 0.01 percentage point) to 4.64%, and the 2-year note, which is sensitive to monetary policy, also fell about 5 bps to 4.15% in late trading.
However, Treasury yields remained elevated amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, including a potential U.S.-Iran war, and concerns about long-term fiscal deficits.