S&P 500 settles at record high as rate hike fears ease; Meta shares rise 3%

The US markets closed in green on Thursday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high due to a flat July producer price report, which eased investors' worry about the Federal Reserve's rate hike in September.

The S&P 500 settled 0.65% higher at a record high of 7,798.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.13% to 53,839.99, while the NASDAQ Composite surged 0.81% to end at 26,803.03.

Shares of Meta Platforms Inc climbed 2.78% to $594.97. Micron Technology and Netflix rose 4.23% and 5.43%, respectively.

Super Micro Computer leapt more than 4% after the company's guidance for the first quarter surpassed estimates.

Sandisk shares skyrocketed 13.67% after presenting a long-term financial model at the investors' meet.

Meanwhile, Cisco Systems' shares fell 8.4% to $113.47 as the company's earnings failed to impress investors. Artificial intelligence hardware and infrastructure company Cerebras' stock slipped 11.85% to $231.01.

Ticket resale broker Stubhub Holdings witnessed a 10% fall in its stock price to $7.68 after the company's quarterly expenses jumped 37%, offsetting a 33% jump in revenue for the June quarter.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) was flat in July 2026, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported. The PPI, which measures underlying inflation pressures, edged down 0.1% in June and rose 0.5% in May. On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand surged 4.7% for the 12 months ended in July.

"In July, a 0.2% increase in the index for final demand services and a 2.2% advance in prices for final demand construction offset a 0.7% decrease in the index for final demand goods," the US Bureau of Labour Statistics said.

On Wednesday, the consumer price index saw an uptick of 0.1% in July after falling 0.4% in June. Over the past 12 months, the all-items index rose 3.4% before seasonal adjustment.

Brent Crude Oil, the international standard, was trading flat with negative bias at $87 per barrel, down 0.06%. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 0.01% at $81.22 a barrel.