Oracle Jumps 13.3%, Predicts 'Dramatically Higher' Growth

US stocks drifted higher Thursday following another encouraging update on inflation.

• The S&P 500 rose 23.02 points, or 0.4%, to 6,045.26 and is sitting less than 2% below its record.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101.85 points, or 0.2%, to 42,967.62.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 46.61 points, or 0.2%, to 19,662.48.

Treasury yields fell again in the bond market after an update on inflation at the wholesale level came in better than expected, while a report on joblessness was slightly worse than forecast, the AP reports. That raised expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates later this year.

Oracle helped lift the stock market with a 13.3% jump. The tech giant delivered stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and CEO Safra Catz said it expects revenue growth "will be dramatically higher" in its upcoming fiscal year. That helped offset a 4.8% loss for Boeing after Air India said a London-bound flight crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport Thursday with 242 passengers and crew onboard. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a residential area near the airport.

Chime Financial jumped 37.4% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The technology company is trying to be the main financial hub for customers, connecting them with its bank partners. GameStop dropped 22.5% after saying it plans to raise $1.75 billion by borrowing at zero interest rates, though the lenders could choose to be repaid in the video-game retailer's stock instead of cash.

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Thursday's update said inflation at the wholesale level wasn't as bad last month as economists expected, and it followed a report on Wednesday saying something similar about the inflation that US consumers are feeling. A separate report on jobless claims said slightly more US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, and the total number remained at the highest level in eight months. That could be an indication of a rise in layoffs across the country. "We believe that were it not for the uncertainty caused by the tariffs, the combined information coming from the inflation and labor-market data would have compelled the Fed to have resumed cutting its policy rate by now," according to Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie.

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