Trump says he will sue Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, over Epstein letter report
Investing.com--The S&P 500 closed higher after cutting losses Thursday, underpinned by an Oracle-led rally in big tech and further signs of cooling inflation.
At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 101 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.4%, and the NASDAQ Composite added 0.2%.
Oracle powers tech after hitting record high; Boeing slumps on India Air crash
Shares in Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) surged to record highs after the cloud-computing group lifted its annual revenue growth target and highlighted solid demand from clients aiming to harness artificial intelligence.
Oracle CEO Safra Catz told investors in a post-earnings call on Wednesday that total revenue in its 2026 fiscal year is expected to be at least $67 billion, implying yearly growth of roughly 16.7%.
The company had previously guided for an increase of 15%.
What was "truly impressive was guidance for even greater acceleration and massive bookings ahead," Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) said in a recent note. "The company expects its year ending $138bn RPO or backlog balance, representing a customer base and business that has cumulatively built over several decades, to more than double in the coming year."
Boeing (NYSE:BA) stock slumped after an Air India aircraft–reported to be a 787-8 Dreamliner–crashed minutes after taking off from India’s western city of Ahmedabad, with 242 people on board. GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE), whose GEnx-1B engines power the 787 Dreamliner, also fell sharply.
On the initial public offering front, Chime Financial surged 39% on its public stock market debut Thursday after opening at $43 a share, well above its IPO price of $27 per share.
PPI cooler than expected, Trump ramps up pressure on Powell
The May producer price index came in cooler than expected, restrained by lower costs for services like air fares.
The producer price index for final demand rebounded 0.1% last month after a revised 0.2% decline in April, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI rising 0.2% after a previously reported 0.5% drop in April.
In the 12 months through May, the PPI advanced 2.6% after rising 2.5% in April.
Data on Wednesday showed consumer prices increased marginally in May, curbed by cheaper gasoline and airline fares amid cooling demand. But economists expect inflation will heat up in the second half of the year as tariffs-related price hikes filter through to goods.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range next Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is expected to resume monetary policy easing in September.
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits was unchanged at higher levels last week as labor market conditions continued to steadily ease.
President Donald Trump again called Fed Chairman Jerome Powell a "numbskull" suggesting that the central bank should cut interest rates by a full percentage point to save U.S. $600 billion a year in interest payments on debt.
Tariff angst renewed on heels of U.S.-China framework agreement
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that he could raise auto tariffs soon, stoking fresh angst over trade just a day after claiming that the U.S.-China trade deal was "done."
"I might go up with that tariff in the not too distant future," Trump said. "The higher you go, the more likely it is they build a plant here."
The president also said he will send letters to major U.S. trading partners in the next two weeks outlining his planned trade tariffs, ahead of a July 9 deadline to strike trade deals with his administration.
Trump said that countries will be offered a trade deal that they could take or leave, likely implying that he will proceed with his plans to impose steep trade tariffs. Trump had in early-April unveiled his “liberation day” tariffs, but had announced a 90-day extension in the duties to allow for more trade negotiations.
Trump also said there would be no need to extend his July 9 deadline for trade deals, although the president has in the past constantly postponed his trade deadlines.
The president paused the implementation of his broadest tariffs in April, in a bid to give negotiators time to hammer out a series of agreements. However, with the 90-day halt set to end on July 8, the U.S. has just one trade deal agreed with Britain.
Crude cuts losses on Middle East tensions
Oil prices cut some losses on bets of supply disruptions amid concerns that Israel could be preparing fresh strikes on Iran.
Energy stocks were slightly higher, led by APA Group (ASX:APA), Expand Energy Corp (NASDAQ:EXE), and EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) Holdings Ltd (ASX:EQT)
Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article