Dow Soars Over 750 Points, Hits Record High As Investors Look Beyond Tech Stocks — PCE Inflation Comes In Hottest Since October 2023

• Tech stocks declined on Thursday, with Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon falling between 2% and 5%.
• However, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group, Merck, Caterpillar, and Boeing helped lift the DJIA with gains in the range of 2% and 5%.
• Micron helped limit the downside in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, with its shares up nearly 12% at the time of writing after the company’s blowout third-quarter results.

U.S. equities were mixed in Thursday morning’s trade as investors looked beyond the tech trade, with healthcare and industrial goods stocks helping lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).

The DJIA index soared more than 750 points to hit an all-time high of 52,615 before paring some of the gains. The S&P 500 index was up about 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4%.

Tech Stocks Tumble, Healthcare And Industrial Goods Stocks Gain

Tech stocks declined on Thursday, with Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) falling between 2% and 5%.

However, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK), Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), and Boeing Co. (BA) helped lift the DJIA with gains in the range of 2% and 5%.

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) helped limit the downside in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, with its shares up nearly 12% at the time of writing after the company’s blowout third-quarter (Q3) results.

Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Hits 31-Month High

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, advanced 4.1% in May on an annualized basis, the highest level since October 2023.

Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.4% on an annualized basis in April, up 0.3% on a monthly basis.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce

The Bureau of Economic Analysis revised the first quarter (Q1) GDP upward to 2.1%, from its previous estimate of 1.6%, beating Wall Street’s expectations of 1.7% growth.

Crude Oil Prices Edge Up

Crude oil prices edged up on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures expiring in July were up 0.67%, hovering around $70.81 a barrel. Brent crude futures expiring in August rose 0.54% to hover around $74.27 a barrel.

The United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) rose over 1%, while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) gained about 2%.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, gained 0.23%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) rose 0.38%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) surged 1.2%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding the S&P 500 ETF was in the ‘bearish’ territory.

Also See: QCOM Stock Jumps As Wall Street Embraces Qualcomm's AI Data Center Pivot — Morgan Stanley Says It Was 'Wrong To Be Skeptical'

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