Wall Street ends flat after fresh S&P 500 high
Global equities edged lower Thursday, with U.S. markets closing mixed as strong inflation data tempered expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. The S&P 500 posted a marginal 0.03% gain, marking a third consecutive record close, while the Dow slipped 0.02% and the Nasdaq fell 0.01%. Dan Genter, CEO of Genter Capital Management, said the Producer Price Index (PPI) report “was not something that was going to rally the market further, but it also wasn’t something that was going to particularly scare the market.”
Inflation surprise lifts yields
U.S. producer prices rose 0.9% in July, well above the 0.2% increase forecast by economists. The data, which comes amid ongoing tariff policies from President Donald Trump, pushed U.S. Treasury yields higher as traders scaled back expectations for larger rate cuts. The two-year yield climbed 4.5 basis points to 3.732%, and the 10-year yield rose 4.9 basis points to 4.289%. Money markets still price in a 92.5% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in September, slightly below Wednesday’s 94.3% probability.
Global market moves and currency shifts
European stocks closed 0.55% higher, while MSCI’s global index slipped 0.12% after hitting a record high the previous day. The dollar strengthened 0.25% to 147.75 yen and 0.39% to 0.808 Swiss francs, while the euro fell 0.49% to $1.1647. The dollar index gained 0.5%. Brent crude rebounded 1.84% to $66.84 per barrel, and U.S. crude rose 2.09% to $63.96. Spot gold fell 0.57% to $3,335.34 an ounce, with December futures settling 0.7% lower at $3,383.20.
Geopolitics in focus
Markets also weighed geopolitical developments as Trump threatened “severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin fails to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine during their scheduled Friday meeting. Trump has floated the idea of a follow-up summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. These tensions added a layer of caution for investors, who are also assessing the global growth outlook alongside inflation pressures.
