S&P 500 futures were relatively unchanged on Thursday, following another day of record highs, as Wall Street digested the latest reading of a key consumer inflation gauge.
Futures tied to the broad index rose just 0.1%, along with those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Nasdaq 100 futures also climbed 0.1%.
It was a confusing batch of numbers, with the consumer price index coming in hotter than expected on a monthly basis but in line with expectations on an annual basis.
The latest CPI reading showed an increase of 0.4% for August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was higher than the 0.3% that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting to see for the month. However, the index recorded 2.9% on a 12-month basis, as expected.
That comes after the producer price index showed an unexpected decline of 0.1% on the month. The PPI rose 2.6% on a 12-month basis.
Thursday’s action follows a second straight finish at all-time closing highs for the S&P 500, fueled by Oracle’s monster rally. The Nasdaq Compositefinished marginally above its flatline, while the Dow lost more than 200 points.
Investors cheered Oracle’s growth outlook for its cloud business. Shares of the stock surged about 36% in the session, marking its best day since 1992 and adding $244 billion in market cap.
Traders also saw it as a positive indicatorfor the artificial intelligence trade at large. AI-related stocks such as Broadcom, AMD and Micron also rallied, offering a bright spot for investors in an otherwise weak day.
