- The Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 40,000 points for the first time on Thursday.
- Stocks are on a record streak after a weak inflation reading in April, and the S&P 500 extended its gains after a record close on Wednesday.
- Investors are watching for new comments from several Fed chairs on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 40,000 points for the first time on Thursday, and stocks extended gains following Wednesday's colder April inflation reading.
The S&P 500 closed above 5,300 for the first time on Wednesday, boosted by weaker April inflation data. On Thursday, investors will hear from five Federal Reserve chairs and will be on the lookout for clues about the direction of interest rates after the first upbeat inflation report of the year.
"Recent technical momentum and fundamental strengths, including earnings and interest rates, suggest further near-term gains," John Lynch, CIO of Comerica Wealth Management, said on Thursday, shortly before the Dow crossed the 40,000 threshold. .
Fed Chairs Tom Barkin, Patrick Harker, Loretta Mester and Raphael Bostic will speak throughout the day, and Fed Chair John Williams will give an interview before the opening bell.
"The overall trend looks reasonably good," Williams said of inflation during an interview with Reuters. However, he also noted that monetary policy is "in a good place" and that he is in no rush to change the Fed's approach just yet.
Jobless claims were lower than expected, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 in the week ending May 11.
The big meme stock rally of the week appears to be over as GameStop and AMC continue to slide from early-week highs.
"We are in a bull market and people are showing some irrational exuberance (meme stocks) and dismissing the bad news (slowing retail sales) and focusing on the good news (mild slowing inflation)," Chris Zaccarelli said Thursday , CIO of Independent Advisor Alliance. .
Here is where the US indices were at 11:00 am on Thursday:
This is what is happening today:
In commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies:
- West Texas Intermediate Crude oil rose 0.7% to $79.15 a barrel. Brent CrudeThe international benchmark index rose 0.5% to $83.13 a barrel.
- Gold fell 0.5% to $2,383.30 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield was broadly stable at 3.354%.
- bitcoin rose 3.8% to $65,971.
