FX.co ★ US Stocks Hold Slight Gains After PPI

US equity futures held modest gains following softer-than-expected producer price data, while AI-related stocks largely preserved their recent advances. The S&P 500 edged up to a fresh record, the Dow rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 100 was little changed.

Chipmakers and companies tied to AI infrastructure extended their strong performance from yesterday, mirroring similar strength in South Korean peers. Sentiment around AI was supported by reports that Anthropic is pursuing an IPO and by its recent acquisition of Decart AI, both of which reinforced expectations for elevated compute-related spending. Micron, Nvidia, and Amazon traded higher.

On the macro front, both headline and core producer prices for July came in below forecasts, consistent with the softer inflation picture seen in yesterday’s CPI release. The data strengthened market conviction that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to deliver a rate hike at its meeting next month.