US stocks gain to extend win streak as optimism for a soft landing grows

• US stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing at highs for 2023.
• Thursday's producer price index further established the disinflation narrative after Wednesday's cooler CPI.

More signs of slowing price growth helped US stocks climb on Thursday, sending the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 to their highest levels of the year.

The disinflation narrative deepened as the Producer Price Index rose 0.1% year-over-year in June, the slowest rate of growth in nearly three years. The reading was better than expected, and added to Wednesday's encouraging Consumer Price Index report that showed inflation cooling to 3% last month.

The reports are fueling hopes that the Federal Reserve could soon back away from its campaign of aggressively tightening monetary policy, though most expect one more hike at the end of this month. Cooling inflation and a steady slowing of the labor market have built up confidence among some analysts that a soft landing can still be achieved.

Tech led stocks higher Thursday, with Nvidia jumping nearly 5% and Alphabet up more than 4%. Cryptocurrency XRP rallied 61% after a US judge determined it was not a security.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,510.04, up 0.85%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,395.14, up 0.14% (47.71 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,138.57, up 1.58%

Here's what else has happened today:

• Taylor Swift's Eras tour is causing a surge in hotel spending and impacting the economy, the Fed noted.
• Flatlining car sales in Russia and soaring prices point to a spiraling economy.
• Jamie Dimon warns of something worse than a recession in a new interview. Read the best quotes.
• Russia is about to take the lead as the top OPEC+ producer, beating out Saudi Arabia.
• Don't expect a housing market downturn, even with mortgage rates at 7%, Allianz said.
• Crumbling inflation means the S&P 500 can expect more gains, Fundstrat's Tom Lee said.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2% to $77.29 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, gained 2% to trade at $81.71.
• Gold edged up 0.18% to $1,965.50 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped nine basis points to 3.731%.
• Bitcoin climbed 2.4% to $31,279.72.