S&P 500 jumps 1% for fresh closing record, Nasdaq pops 1.5% to touch all-time high: Live updates

Stocks rose Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite back to record highs, as hope over easing inflation and gains in tech aided Wall Street’s midweek bounce.

The broad S&P 500 advanced 1.03%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.51%. Both more than erased losses that pulled the pair off record levels earlier in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 130.30 points, or 0.34%.

Information technology and communication services stocks led the S&P 500 to that record. Intel was the best performer in the Dow with a gain of more than 3%.

Investor optimism was boosted after the European Central Bank lowered forecasts for annual inflation and growth on Thursday, though the bank also held key interest rates steady. That can be taken as a positive signal on the international inflation front.

The ECB’s announcement comes after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that he expects interest rates to come down this year. While Powell said that the Fed was not immediately ready to begin cutting, he told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that the central bank isn’t far from having the confidence it needs on inflation to start.

“The market was expecting it — and they’re finally hearing it from Fed officials,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, of Powell’s commentary around interest levels. “It just adds to the confidence that rate cuts are coming.”

Thursday’s advance adds to the gains seen Wednesday, which was the first winning day of the week for any of the three major averages. Despite the tough start to the week, the S&P 500 was now up 0.4% this week and on track to surpass Friday’s record close. The Nasdaq was near flat on the week, while the Dow was still down around 0.7%.

The Nasdaq was helped by a gain of about 4.5% in Nvidia, the artificial intelligence darling whose shares have climbed more than 12% this week. Apple once more ended the day slightly lower.

Investors are awaiting Friday’s U.S. jobs report for insights into the state of the labor market, which has shown resilience despite higher interest rates.