12:43 PM EDT, 05/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose in midday trading on Wednesday, pushing the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite to new record highs, and government bond yields slumped after the consumer price index eased in April.

The S&P 500 traded up 0.9% to 5,292.7 after touching a new record of 5,293.15 earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite was 1% higher, reaching a new peak of 16,685.9 intraday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to 39,807.2.

Technology, real estate, and utilities were the top gainers intraday, while consumer discretionary was the sole decliner.

The US seasonally adjusted consumer price index rose 0.3% in April, below expectations for a 0.4% increase in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a 0.4% gain in March, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Core CPI also rose 0.3%, right on the consensus estimate and following a 0.4% gain in March.

The year-over-year rate for overall and core CPI slowed to 3.4% and 3.6%, respectively, from 3.5% and 3.8% in the previous month.

"We still expect more deceleration ahead, especially in 2H24, and we maintain our call for a first cut in September this year," Morgan Stanley economists, including Ellen Zentner, said in a note.

The probability of the Fed cutting rates in September stood at 53% by Wednesday afternoon, the highest likelihood for the easing cycle to begin in any month this year, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. The possibility that the central bank will leave its target rate unchanged is 29%.

For the Fed, the CPI data provides little of the "greater confidence" they are looking for in identifying a disinflationary trend and progress toward the inflation side of the dual mandate goals, Thomas Simons, US economist at Jefferies, said in a note.

Further, in economic news, US retail sales held roughly steady in April, below the 0.4% increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following the previous month's revised 0.6% gain.

The US 10-year Treasury yield slumped 8.4 basis points to 4.36%, and a 6.8 basis-point increase in the two-year pushed the yield to 4.75%.

Meanwhile, in company news, Biogen (BIIB) and Eisai said late Tuesday that the latter initiated a rolling submission of a biologics license application to the US Food and Drug Administration for a weekly maintenance treatment for early Alzheimer's disease. Shares of Biogen jumped 3.4% intraday, among the top gainers on the Nasdaq.

The US government accused Boeing ( BA ) of failing to abide by the terms of a 2021 deal that protected the company from criminal prosecution over two fatal 737 Max plane crashes, news outlets reported Tuesday. Shares of the aircraft manufacturer fell 1.6% intraday, the second-worst performer on the Dow.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.4% to $78.35 a barrel.

Gold climbed 1.2% to $2,387.92 an ounce, and silver jumped 3.3% to $29.65.