US stocks head for a 5-day winning streak as investors assess Fed's favorite inflation gauge

• Stocks headed for a five-day winning streak as investors digested the Fed's favorite inflation measure.
• Core PCE inflation rose 4.2% year per year in July, in line with economists' expectations.

US stocks rose on Thursday and looked to notch a five-day winning streak as investors surveyed the latest inflation data.

The core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, increased 0.2% over July, and 4.2% over the last year, in line with economists' expectations.

"The lack of an inflation surprise to the upside should be cheered by markets because it is unlikely to move the Fed's bias towards leaving rates unchanged at their next meeting," Independent Advisor Alliance chief investment officer Chris Zaccarelli said in a statement. "Not only is the Fed unlikely to raise rates at the next meeting, they are unlikely to raise rates again this year as long as inflation continues to remain contained."

The surge in stocks over the last week is ending August on a positive note, though the month is overall negative for equities. The S&P 500 and the Dow are on track to end August 1%-2% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite has slid 2% since the start of the month.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,524.33, up 0.21%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,013.40, up 0.35% (123.16 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 14,057.81, up 0.27%

Here's what else is going on:

• Here's where stocks could be headed after a tough August, according to Wall Street's top strategists.
• There's a new era of stock-picking taking shape, BlackRock said.
• China's property crisis is deepening as 87% of value is wiped out of developers' dollar bonds.
• It's weird there's no recession yet, according to "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary.
• Stocks are facing a laundry list of dangers and could slump within months, according to one elite investor.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.47% to $82.85 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.08% to $86.16 a barrel.
• Gold edged higher 0.07% to $1,944.03 per ounce.
• The 10-year yield slipped 1 basis points to 4.108%.
• Bitcoin fell 1% to $27,167.21.