Stock market today: S&P 500 ekes out record close, but inflation jitters persist

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 eked out a third-straight record close Thursday as a surge in Intel helped tech cut losses, though broader gains were kept in check by hot inflation data that cooled calls for a jumbo rate cut. 

By 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 rose 0.01% to a record close of 6,467.32. The NASDAQ Composite ended roughly flat.

Intel surge helps tech cut losses

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) jumped more than 7% following a Bloomberg report that President Donald Trump in discussion with the chipmaker about the U.S. taking a stake in the company.   

The move helped chipmakers pair losses to the end day in the green, lifting the broader tech sector from session lows. 

PPI surged in July

Data released earlier Thursday showed that U.S. producer prices rose at a faster-than-anticipated rate in July.

The producer price index for final demand increased by 0.9% on a monthly basis in July, accelerating after it was unchanged in June. In the twelve months to July, the figure came in at 3.3%, speeding up from 2.4%.

Economists had predicted readings of 0.2% and 2.5%, respectively.

"The hotter-than-expected PPI report was largely the result of a rise in services costs in July with services costs increasing 1.1% in July, marking the largest monthly gain since March 2022," Stifel Economics said in a recent note.

Following the data, odds on a September rate cut dropped slightly to 90% from 97% a day earlier.

Elsewhere, the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell last week amid low layoffs, dropping 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 224,000 for the week ended August 9.

Cisco falls after Q1 results

In the corporate sector, agricultural equipment maker Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) stock fell after the agricultural machinery giant narrowed its full-year profit guidance amid ongoing market challenges.

Tapestry (NYSE:TPR) stock dropped after the fashion group unveiled income estimates for its current fiscal year that underwhelmed Wall Street expectations.

Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) gained after the iconic German shoemaker reported better-than-anticipated profit in its fiscal third quarter and backed its full-year outlook, despite the impact of elevated U.S. tariffs on the European Union.

Elsewhere, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares fell after the networking equipment group announced a stronger-than-anticipated first-quarter revenue outlook, but noted some impact from sweeping U.S. tariffs during its just-ended fiscal year.

Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article