Wall Street traded cautiously on Thursday midday, with major indexes mostly flat while the U.S. dollar slumped to over two-year lows, as investors digested a double dose of soft inflation and a surprise uptick in jobless claims that further bolstered expectations for interest rate cuts.
May’s Producer Price Index rose just 0.1% from the prior month, undershooting forecasts of 0.2%, while the annual rate held steady at 2.6%. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, cooled to 3.0% year-over-year—its lowest since August 2024—and gained only 0.1% on the month, missing the 0.3% projection.
Jobless claims added to the cautious mood. Initial claims climbed to 248,000 last week, above the 240,000 estimate, while continuing claims hit 1.956 million—the highest level since November 2021—suggesting weakening labor demand.
Trump Pressures Powell, Again
President Donald Trump renewed pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates.
Speaking from the White House, Trump said he told Powell “we don’t need to keep interest rates this high” and added that he “may have to force something,” hinting at political frustration over tight monetary policy.
The S&P 500 inched 0.2% higher to 6,035 points by midday trading in New York. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also rose 0.2% to 21,900 points.
Blue-chip stocks, tracked by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, were flat at 42,860, while small-cap shares fell 0.5%.
The U.S. dollar index — tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP — fell 0.6% to 97.60, hitting its weakest level since March 2022 amid broad disinflation and labor market concerns.
Treasury yields declined across the curve, with 5- to 6-basis-point drops. In response, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT surged nearly 1%.
Gold prices climbed sharply as the dollar weakened and expectations grew for easier Fed policy. The yellow metal rose 1% to $3,390 per ounce, while silver erased early losses to gain 0.2%, reaching $36.30.
Bitcoin BTC/USD, meanwhile, slipped 1.3% to $107,400.
| Major Indices | Price | Chg % |
| Nasdaq 100 | 21,905.42 | +0.3% |
| S&P 500 | 6,036.89 | +0.2% |
| Dow Jones | 42,864.84 | 0.0% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,137.55 | -0.5% |
Thursday’s Stock Movers
- Oracle Corp. ORCL rallied by 14.4% in reaction to stronger-than-expected earnings and upbeat guidance. Shares eye the strongest 1-day surge since December 2021.
- Boeing Co. BA fell 5% after a fatal crash involving a 787-8 Dreamliner in India resulted in 240 deaths.
- Shares of United Airlines Inc. UAL, American Airlines Group Inc. AAL and Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL fell 3.5%, 2.4% and 1.9% in reaction to the tragic event.
- Fortrea Holdings Inc. FTRE surged 14% Thursday after the company announced the adoption of a shareholder rights plan designed to prevent hostile takeovers and protect investor interests.
- GameStop Corp. GME sunk 20% after announcing late Wednesday that it intends to raise $1.75 billion through the sale of convertible senior notes maturing in 2032.
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