S&P rises to record high as inflation fears abate

Healthcare and tech stocks powered the S&P 500 to a record closing high Thursday. Stocks rallied despite a report showing consumer prices posted their biggest annual increase in nearly 13 years.

Investors were relieved after a closer look at the highly anticipated May consumer price index signaled that inflation is likely to be temporary.

The Dow closed just above the breakeven line while the S&P rose a half percent, and the Nasdaq shot up eight-tenths of a percent.

National Securities Chief Market Strategist Art Hogan says the data echoed the case the Federal Reserve has been making about inflation.

“If you back out the volatile food and energy components and then you look at things like used car prices and plane fares, there's a lot of things that likely look temporary or tertiary.”

The report sent benchmark Treasury yields lower. As a result, rate-sensitive financial stocks were the day’s biggest loser.

Small cap stocks fell as the social media-driven meme stocks snapped their recent rally. Shares of GameStop fell 27% after the video game retailer said it may sell more shares. Wednesday’s flavor of the day, prison operator GEO Group, lost a fifth of its value, and theater chain AMC tumbled 13%.

Shares of Pfizer got another shot in the arm, rising 2%. The U.S. will pay the drugmaker about $3.5 billion for 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. which it will donate to the 100 poorest countries.