The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 0.4%, or about 145 points, after May’s inflation report encouraged investors the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates steady at least until July.
Inflation fell to 4% in May, in line with Wall Street expectations. That buoyed investor confidence that the Fed will decide at tomorrow’s FOMC meeting to hold steady, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Markets rose across the board, with the Nasdaq gaining about 0.8% and the S&P 500 rising 0.7%, extending its bull market run.
Caterpillar (CAT) was the Dow’s best-performing stock, rising 3.2%. Industrial stocks were among the day’s biggest winners, with Chemical maker Dow (DOW) rising 2.6%.
Intel (INTC) stock also rose 2.6% after an unidentified source told media outlets that the chipmaker was in talks to be an anchor investor in chip designer Arm’s IPO.
Amgen (AMGN) was up 2.2% after the drugmaker blasted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for attempting to block its $27.8 billion merger with Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP), calling the intervention “as misguided as it is unprecedented.”
Salesforce (CRM) was the worst performing stock of the Dow 30, falling 2.2% after competitor Oracle (ORCL) beat analyst earnings estimates and announced it plans to develop generation artificial intelligence services.
Apple (AAPL) shares fell about 0.3% after hitting an all-time high yesterday. UBS analysts downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, saying they saw a possible slowdown in iPhone sales. Still, shares of Apple are up 41% this year and the company is on the cusp of reaching a $3 trillion valuation.