Cooling inflation propels US stocks to records
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 booked fresh all-time highs, up 0.9% and 1.3%, respectively, after core CPI inflation came in well below analysts’ expectations in May.
The iShares Russell 2000 exchange traded fund – which was red on the year heading into today’s session – outperformed with a 1.5% gain.
Tech stocks (what else?) were the primary drivers of upside in US stocks, with a 3.6% rise in shares of Nvidia and Apple building on Tuesday’s monster gains with a 2.9% advance. The consumer discretionary group also had a strong session, buoyed by a 3.9% increase for Tesla on the eve of the long-anticipated shareholder vote on Elon Musk’s pay package. Consumer staples and energy were the worst performing sector ETFs, each off more than 1%.
Despite outlining a 2024 path for interest rates that was slightly higher than what economists expected, the Federal Reserve did not dim the post-CPI glow for stocks. However, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF did give back more than half of its gains after the central bank’s updated projections were released, closing up 0.8%.
