Stocks rose for a fourth day on Thursday after another key inflation reading showed more signs of cooling and the second-quarter earnings season started off strong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 50 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite added 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (SPY ): +0.85% or +37.88 points to 4,510.04
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA ): +0.14% or +47.71 points to 34,395.14
Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ ): +1.58% or +219.61 points to 14,138.57
In the spotlight, June's Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures what wholesalers pay for goods, came in below expectations at 0.1%. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core PPI rose to 0.1%, also coming in below estimates.
The cooldown in price increases followed Wednesday's softer-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading for June, both boosting market optimism that the Federal Reserve could begin to further ease its rate hiking campaign. However, the CME FedWatch Tool still shows most traders expect for an interest rate increase in July, with a probability above 90%.
On the earnings front, Delta Air Lines (DAL ) reported record second-quarter earnings and revenue on Thursday, citing strong international travel demand and cheaper fuel prices as the major drivers of the quarter's impressive growth.
PepsiCo (PEP ) also topped expectations for its second-quarter earnings and revenue, with the beverage and snack giant hiking its full-year outlook for the second consecutive quarter. Pepsi now expects 10$ organic revenue growth and 12% growth for its core constant currency earnings, up from previous full-year forecasts for 8% and 9%, respectively.
Elsewhere, Disney (DIS ) was in the news Thursday after CEO Bob Iger extended his contract with the entertainment giant through 2026. Iger told CNBC on Thursday that one of his top priorities moving forward is to assess the company's traditional TV segment, which could lead to possible sale of Disney-owned networks which include ABC and ESPN.
Amazon (AMZN ) Prime Day raked in $12.7 billion in U.S. online spending, growing 6.1% over last year for the e-commerce giant's "biggest ever" sales event. Prime members purchased more than 375 million items worldwide and saved more than $2.5 billion on sales across its storefront, Amazon said.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Sofi Technologies (SOFI ) on Thursday, saying the financial entity should be treated more like a bank after issuing a rating of Underweight. Analyst Jeffrey Adelson also gave a price target of $7 for SoFi that implies a nearly 24% drop in the next year from its closing price on Wednesday.
"We previously valued SOFI on a growth-adj. basis, given strong growth well above most banks/consumer lenders," Adelson said in a note to clients Thursday. "But as SOFI looks increasingly like a bank, we believe it needs to be valued more like a bank."
Looking ahead, Wall Street will turn its attention to the "official" start of the second-quarter earnings season, with financial heavyweights JPMorgan Chase (JPM ), Wells Fargo (WFC ), BlackRock (BLK ), Citigroup (C ) and State Street (STT ) all set to release results before market open on Friday.
