04:58 PM EDT, 08/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)

US equity indexes rose, with the S&P 500 breaking records amid gains in growth sectors, after a soft producer price inflation report raised the likelihood of a sixth straight monetary policy pause in September.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8% to 26,803.03, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 7,798.99 on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% to 53,839.99, clawing out of intraday declines. The S&P 500 hit 7,816.70, its highest intraday level ever.

Communication services and technology were among the top gainers, while materials led decliners.

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

Cisco ( CSCO ) slumped 8.4%, one of the worst performers in the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The tech giant reported flat fiscal Q4 services revenue at $3.79 billion, missing the FactSet-polled consensus of $3.81 billion. On a non-GAAP basis, product gross margin fell to 64.8% from 67.5% a year ago, weighing on total gross margin.

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 producer prices data does potentially mitigate "the sense of urgency for the Fed to firm its policy stance, at least in the nearer term, particularly in the aftermath of a weaker-than-expected July employment report," Lindsey Piegza, Stifel's Chief Economist, said in a research note.

Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin (non-voter) said uncertainty remains regarding the path of inflation and whether rate increases will be needed to bring it down to the 2% goal or if it will slow on its own.

US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down 4.3 basis points to 4.65%. The two-year yield dropped five basis points to 4.15%.

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

Meanwhile, the front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract dropped 2.6% to $81.08 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 2.4% to $86.89 per barrel as traders weighed a downbeat demand-supply dynamic and a continuing stalemate in the Iran war.

US commercial crude oil inventories increased by a staggering 17.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 7, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday. On the same day, the International Energy Agency projected global demand to contract by 1.6 million barrels per day this year, steeper than the 1 million b/d drop seen in July.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the military, by rotating its aircraft carriers, can maintain its blockade on Iran "indefinitely," Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. President Donald Trump and his top officials are returning to a playbook of relying on a steady increase in economic sanctions and a naval blockade to stifle Iran's oil exports, Bloomberg reported.

This comes as Iran's military rejected US claims that vessels are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying no ship can pass without its permission, the Al Jazeera report said.