The S&P 500 climbed to a record high on Thursday, driven by gains in Sandisk and other major technology stocks, as subdued producer price inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady at its September meeting.

The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.56 percent to close at 7,791.70 points, after touching an intraday all-time high of 7,816.70. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.73 percent to 26,782.15 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.01 percent to 53,766.27 points.

Year to date, the S&P 500 is up nearly 14 percent in 2026, and the Nasdaq has advanced 15 percent.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes finished higher, with real estate leading at a 1.18 percent gain, followed by communication services, which rose 1.13 percent.

Memory chip makers Sandisk and Micron Technology surged 16 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively. Both companies supply high-bandwidth memory critical to AI accelerators, positioning them as key beneficiaries of the ongoing data-center buildout. Broadcom added 1.3 percent and Meta Platforms rose 2.8 percent. Strong recent forecasts from companies including Microsoft and Amazon have alleviated investor concerns about massive capital expenditure on AI data centers.

Shares of AI cloud company CoreWeave were flat on Thursday, a day after the stock jumped 19 percent following an upward revision to its annual capital spending forecast.

"The AI earnings-driven tech boom continues," said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors in New York. "It's an earnings boom, not a bubble."

Cisco Systems dropped 9 percent after the networking equipment maker's upbeat revenue forecast failed to meet the high expectations priced in by investors, a pattern that has repeatedly punished high-flying tech names whose guidance merely meets rather than exceeds consensus.

Netflix added 3.7 percent after billionaire investor Bill Ackman disclosed a new position in the streaming company as part of Pershing Square's largest portfolio overhaul in years.

Tapestry shares plunged 16 percent after the parent company of Coach projected sluggish annual revenue growth, dragging down other luxury-accessories names on concern that discretionary consumer spending may be softening.

Dell Technologies and HP rose 2.9 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively, after quarterly results from China's Lenovo surpassed market expectations, signaling resilient global PC demand.

Fresh economic data showed U.S. producer prices were unchanged in July, as a decline in goods prices offset a marginal increase in the cost of services. Because the Producer Price Index tracks wholesale costs that eventually flow through to consumer prices, the flat reading bolstered the view that broader inflation pressures are continuing to moderate. Separately, the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose moderately last week, pointing to a stable labor market. Together, the inflation and labor-market readings align with the Fed's dual mandate goals of price stability and maximum employment, giving policymakers little urgency to adjust rates.

Traders are pricing in a 63 percent probability that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting next month, according to CME's FedWatch tool, which derives implied probabilities from federal funds futures contracts.

On the geopolitical front, Iran and the United States remain at odds over efforts to reach a permanent end to the Iran war, according to a senior Iranian source, while traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz remained severely curtailed. The Strait accounts for roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption flows, making any sustained disruption a key risk factor for energy markets and inflation.

Brent crude oil futures fell 1.5 percent to $87.66 a barrel.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.8-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 28 new highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 138 new highs and 74 new lows.

Source: The Korea Times