S&P 500 Closes at New High Ahead of Consumer Inflation Data; Oracle Surges

04:57 PM EDT, 09/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite reached new peaks for the second consecutive session on Wednesday as markets assessed a surprise drop in producer prices ahead of consumer inflation data.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 6,532, while the Nasdaq Composite eked out a marginal gain to finish at 21,886.1 -- both fresh closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 45,490.9, retreating after closing at an all-time high the day before.

Among sectors, technology led the gainers, while consumer discretionary saw the biggest drop.

In economic news, US producer prices fell for the first time in four months in August, defying Wall Street's expectations for a rise, government data showed.

"An outright disinflationary producer price report -- at least for the month -- seemingly solidifies a (25-basis-point) federal funds rate cut next week," Stifel said. "This morning's (producer price index) report, however, does not necessarily affirm the need for a larger (50-basis-point) cut, although there may be a dissent or two in favor of more aggressive action."

On Thursday, official data are expected to show that US consumer inflation accelerated to 0.3% sequentially in August from 0.2% reported for the month prior and to 2.9% annually from 2.7%, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.

Markets are currently pricing in a 92% probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will reduce its benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point on Sept. 17, with the remaining odds in favor of a 50-basis-point cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

The US Department of Labor's internal watchdog said Wednesday that it was launching a review of potential issues around the Bureau of Labor Statistics' key jobs and inflation data.

US Treasury yields were lower in Wednesday late-afternoon trade, with the 10-year rate dropping 3.8 basis points to 4.05% and the two-year rate losing 2.5 basis points to 3.55%.

In company news, Oracle (ORCL) shares surged 36%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. The cloud computing company late Tuesday offered strong growth prospects, including an expected surge in remaining performance obligations, which are future commitments arising from contractual relationships.

Oracle could become "the biggest large-cap growth acceleration story" across the tech space, UBS Securities said in a note e-mailed Wednesday.

"The question for investors is why the world's most demanding AI companies are turning to Oracle. The answer lies in speed and scarcity," Jacob Falkencrone, global head of investment strategy at Saxo Bank said in a report. "Oracle builds gigawatt-scale data centres optimised for AI, with access to Nvidia (NVDA) (graphics processing units) and networks that move data faster than rivals."

Nvidia (NVDA) shares were up 3.9%, the best performer on the Dow, while Broadcom (AVGO) was the second best on the S&P 500 with a 9.8% jump.

Synopsys (SNPS) was the worst performer on the S&P 500, down nearly 36%. The software company late Tuesday cut its full-year profit outlook after its fiscal third-quarter earnings unexpectedly declined year over year amid underperformance in its IP business.

Apple (AAPL) shares were down 3.2%, among the biggest drops on the Dow. On Tuesday, the tech giant announced several new products, including its iPhone 17 lineup.

"The launch of the next-generation iPhone 17 series checked all the boxes from a product iteration perspective," UBS said in a note e-mailed Wednesday. "Apple (AAPL) did not announce any material updates to Apple Intelligence."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.7% at $63.72 a barrel in Wednesday late-afternoon trade. On Tuesday, Israel launched strikes targeting Hamas' leadership in Doha, Qatar, CNN reported.

The US Supreme Court agreed to hear the Trump administration's arguments challenging a lower court ruling on tariffs, according to an order released Tuesday. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently ruled that most of tariffs were illegal.

In a late Tuesday post on Truth Social, Trump said the US is "continuing negotiations" with India to address trade barriers between the two countries. The post comes amid a Financial Times report that said the US leader has asked the European Union to impose 100% duties on India and China to put pressure on Russia due to its war with Ukraine.

Gold edged down 0.1% to $3,680.50 per troy ounce, while silver increased 0.7% to $41.63 per ounce.

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