04:57 PM EDT, 06/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs for a third straight session Wednesday after consumer inflation cooled more than expected in May, while the Federal Reserve said there has been "modest further progress" toward its 2% inflation target in recent months.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.5% to 17,608.4, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 5,421. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 38,712.2. Technology led the gainers among sectors, while energy posted the steepest decline.

In economic news, the US consumer price index was flat last month, easing from a 0.3% increase in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts were expecting the pace to decelerate to 0.1%, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey. Annually, inflation slowed to 3.3% in May from the prior month's 3.4%, which was the Wall Street consensus.

"The CPI report for May came in a bit better than we dared hope for given the string of disappointing readings to start the year," BMO Economics said in a note to clients. "If sustained, it will keep Fed rate-cut expectations that we have penciled in for September and December alive and well."

Official producer prices data for last month are scheduled to be released Thursday.

The US 10-year yield fell 8.2 basis points to 4.32% Wednesday, while the two-year rate slid 7.8 basis points to 4.76%.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee held interest rates steady at 5.25% to 5.50%, its seventh straight pause, which was in line with Street projections. The committee's updated Summary of Economic Projections indicated just one rate cut this year, down from three forecast in March.

In a bid to combat inflation, policymakers started tightening monetary policy in March 2022, with their last rate hike coming in July 2023.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.6% to $78.38 per barrel Wednesday. Commercial crude stockpiles in the US increased by 3.7 million barrels to 459.7 million barrels through the week ended June 7, the Energy Information Administration said. The consensus estimate on Bloomberg was for a draw of 1.5 million barrels.

In company news, Oracle (ORCL) shares surged 13%, the top performer on the S&P 500. The software maker late Tuesday gave an outlook for annual growth in its fiscal first-quarter revenue and earnings, and announced cloud partnerships with Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed (MSFT) OpenAI and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google ( GOOG ).

Nike's ( NKE ) trademark application for the capitalized version of the word "footware" was dismissed by the General Court of the European Union, with the shoemaker ordered to pay legal costs in Puma's favor, media outlets reported Wednesday. Nike ( NKE ) shares fell 2.3%, the steepest decline on the Dow.

Valero Energy ( VLO ) was among the worst performers on the S&P 500, down 3.4%, as Goldman Sachs adjusted its price target on the stock to $162 from $168.

Gold rose 0.5% to $2,339 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 1.8% to $29.76 per ounce.