According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 51.23 points, or 0.66%, to end at 7,799.73 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 215.02 points, or 0.81%, to 26,803.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 70.91 points, or 0.13%, to 53,833.87.
The S&P 500 is up about 14% in 2026, while the Nasdaq has gained about 15%.
Inflation, jobs and market backdrop
Fresh data showed U.S. producer prices were unchanged in July as goods prices fell and the cost of services increased marginally, while the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, pointing to a stable jobs market.
Traders are pricing in a 63% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting next month, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 closed about 2% lower at $87.07 a barrel.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree on a permanent end to the Iran war, according to a senior Iranian source, while traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz remained severely curtailed.
Corporate movers and sector pressures
Cisco Systems CSCO.O dropped after the networking equipment maker's upbeat revenue forecast did not satisfy investors with high expectations.
Netflix NFLX.O climbed after billionaire investor Bill Ackman unveiled a new holding in the streaming company as part of Pershing Square's biggest portfolio overhaul in years.
Tapestry TPR.N shares plunged after the Coach owner forecast muted annual revenue growth.
Dell Technologies DELL.N and HP HPQ.N both gained after quarterly results from China's Lenovo 0992.HK beat expectations.
S&P 500 hits record close as inflation data eases rate worries
The S&P 500 notched a record-high close on Thursday, fueled by advances in Sandisk and other heavyweight technology stocks, as tame producer price inflation data supported expectations the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates at its September meeting.
Memory chip makers Sandisk SNDK.O and Micron Technology MU.O surged, while Broadcom AVGO.O and Meta Platforms META.O also gained.
Strong forecasts in recent weeks from companies including Microsoft MSFT.O and Amazon AMZN.O have reduced investors' concerns about massive spending on AI data centers.
"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."
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