04:58 PM EDT, 05/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The S&P 500 rose for the fourth straight day on Thursday, while the Nasdaq Composite posted its first decline in seven days as traders digested a fresh set of economic data and remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 5,916.9, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 0.2% lower at 19,112.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 42.322.8. Utilities paced gainers among sectors, while consumer discretionary and communications services were in the red.

In economic news, retail sales in the US barely grew in April as consumers pulled back on spending at gasoline stations and car dealerships, government data showed.

"There have been no significant signs of price pressures stemming from tariffs so far," TD Economics said. "The (US') temporary truce with China and the reduction in reciprocal tariffs should further ease pricing pressures in the near term."

US producer prices unexpectedly declined last month as wholesale costs of services fell at the fastest pace on record, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed.

April's 0.5% decline "marks the largest monthly drop in five years and suggests some businesses are absorbing higher costs associated with increased tariffs as opposed to passing them on to customers," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said.

Earlier in the week, the BLS reported a sequential rebound in consumer prices for April, though the increase was smaller than Wall Street's estimates. Annual inflation eased to the lowest level since February 2021.

US homebuilder confidence unexpectedly fell in May, hitting the lowest since December 2022 amid heightened macro uncertainties, according to National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo data.

New York manufacturing contraction worsened in May as firms remained pessimistic regarding the outlook, while the downturn in the US Mid-Atlantic region improved, separate surveys by the respective Fed branch showed.

US Treasury yields were lower, with the 10-year rate falling 8.9 basis points to 4.45% and the two-year rate losing 8.6 basis points to 3.97%.

Powell said that inflation could be more volatile in the future than in the inter-crisis period of the 2010s as the economic backdrop has changed "significantly" since 2020.

"Longer-term interest rates are a good deal higher now, driven largely by real rates given the stability of longer-term inflation expectations," Powell said. "Higher real rates may also reflect the possibility that inflation could be more volatile going forward than in the inter-crisis period of the 2010s. We may be entering a period of more frequent, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks -- a difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 2.1% at $61.80 a barrel. "Oil prices tumbled on a potential US-Iran nuclear deal," D.A. Davidson said in a client note.

In company news, Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) shares rose 4.9%, the top gainer on the Dow and among the best performers on the S&P 500. The networking equipment maker's fiscal third-quarter results surpassed the Street's estimates late Wednesday as demand for its products grew.

Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) agreed to acquire Foot Locker ( FL ) Thursday for an equity value of roughly $2.4 billion. Foot Locker ( FL ) shares surged nearly 86%, while Dick's Sporting tumbled nearly 15%.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) shares sank 11%, the worst performer on the Dow and the second-biggest decliner on the S&P 500. The health insurance giant is facing a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice over possible Medicare fraud tied to its Medicare Advantage operations, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) said it has not received any notification from the DOJ and described the WSJ report, without official attribution, as "deeply irresponsible."

Gold was up 1.6% at $3,237.90 per troy ounce, while silver rose 1.1% to $32.79 per ounce.