03:56 PM EDT, 08/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves from the first paragraph.)

US equity indexes rose, with the S&P 500 hitting a new high, after a soft producer price inflation report increased the probability of a sixth consecutive monetary policy pause in September, and crude oil prices slumped.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to 26,838.1, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 7,803.9 ahead of Thursday's close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% to 53,844.5, clawing out of intraday declines. The S&P 500 hit 7,816.70, its highest intraday level ever.

Communication services, real estate and technology topped the gainers, while materials led decliners.

The Producer Price Index held steady in July, following a 0.1% decrease in June, versus the 0.2% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. Energy prices fell by 3.1% in the month amid a 9.8% slide in natural gas liquids, a 6.7% slump in diesel fuel, and a 5.7% drop in gasoline prices. Excluding food and energy, core PPI climbed 0.2%, still below the 0.3% gain anticipated and a 0.4% increase in June.

Annually, PPI was up 4.7% in July, and core PPI increased by 4.2%, both slowing from June.

The probability of the Federal Reserve extending its policy pause to September jumped to 65% on Thursday, from 59% a day ago and 45% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, eight of the top 10 by returns were in the technology sector after midday Thursday, according to data compiled by Finviz. Sandisk ( SNDK ) , the leader of this pack with a 14% surge in the final leg of trading, said it expects revenue growth in the mid-to-high-teens over fiscal 2028 through fiscal 2030.

Meanwhile, the front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract dropped 2.5% to $81.23 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 2.2% to $87.06 per barrel as traders weighed a downbeat demand-supply dynamic and a continuing stalemate in the Iran war.