US stocks advanced on Thursday as investors shifted towards sectors outside technology, helping Wall Street recover from the previous session’s sell-off despite stronger-than-expected inflation data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 556.21 points, or 1.08%, to 52,177.69. The S&P 500 gained 0.33% to 7,744.06, while the Nasdaq Composite edged 0.08% higher to 26,713.03 after falling as much as 1.4% earlier in the session.
Technology stocks remained volatile amid concerns about heavy borrowing to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure and growing competition in the memory chip market.
Seagate Technology, Western Digital and SK Hynix extended recent declines, while CoreWeave rebounded almost 6% following a sharp sell-off in the previous session. Micron Technology also recovered, gaining nearly 2%.
Investors favoured other sectors, with Walmart rising 1.5% and Nike jumping more than 5%.
Fresh economic data added to inflation concerns. US producer prices surged 1.3% in September and 6.3% annually, marking the largest monthly and yearly increases since 2022.
The figures followed Wednesday’s stronger-than-expected consumer inflation report, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates again before year-end.
Elevated Treasury yields also remained a concern as investors reassessed technology valuations and the cost of financing AI expansion.
Australian Market Outlook
Australian shares are set to open higher, with S&P/ASX 200 futures up 93 points, or 1.06%, to 8,844. The stronger lead follows gains in the Dow and S&P 500, although ongoing volatility in technology stocks and persistent US inflation could temper sentiment. The US dollar also retreated from an 18-month high, while investors continued to assess the outlook for global interest rates.
Locally, minerals explorer Europa Metals is scheduled to begin trading on the ASX at midday AEDT. Overseas, investors will monitor quarterly earnings from Charles Schwab and semiconductor manufacturer TSMC.
