By Avinash P and Purvi Agarwal
Aug 13 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 hit an intraday record high on Thursday, boosted by technology stocks, as a drop in crude prices lifted risk appetite and investors parsed a softer-than-expected producer price inflation reading.
Brent crude futures retreated 2.2% after six consecutive sessions of gains as investors assessed prospects for weaker global demand this year and higher U.S. crude stocks.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree on
a permanent end to the war in the Middle East, according to a senior Iranian source, while traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz remained severely curtailed.
Tech stocks also boosted the Nasdaq, while the S&P 500 information technology index gained 1%.
Microsoft added 1.4%, Nvidia was up 0.6% and Apple added 0.5%, as investors flocked back to Big Tech stocks.
"The start of July was kind of a period of a rotation away from some of the areas of the market, such as tech, that have taken a backseat to some of the more cyclical-oriented sectors," said Brock Weimer, analyst, investment strategy, Edward Jones.
The market is showing little tolerance for companies that increase spending without a clear path to profitability, while rewarding those that can deliver results, he added.
Meanwhile, financial and healthcare stocks kept the Dow afloat.
At 10:09 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 190.02 points, or 0.36%, to 53,960.29, the S&P 500 gained 56.52 points, or 0.73%, to 7,805.02 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 244.05 points, or 0.92%, to 26,832.54.
Producer price figures came in at 4.7%, below expectations of a 4.9% gain in July. This follows benign July consumer inflation data that strengthened expectations that the Fed would hold interest rates steady at its next meeting.
"I don't think it's really enough to sway the Fed one way or another just from this month's data. But, it certainly doesn't seem the energy price shock is having a meaningful transmission into other core categories of inflation," said Weimer.
Traders added to bets on a Fed interest rate hold next month, pricing in a 65% chance compared with 60% before the print, futures that settle to the Fed's policy rate showed.
The Dow was hovering close to its record high, while the Nasdaq was around 1.5% below its own peak.
Robust earnings in several sectors, including tech, have proven to be the latest tailwind for U.S. stocks after a rocky start to the second half of 2026. They helped the Nasdaq recover from a 10% drop from its all-time high late in July.
Among stocks, Dow component Cisco Systems dropped 7.4% despite the networking equipment maker forecasting fiscal 2027 revenue above Wall Street expectations.
Tapestry shares plunged 15% despite the Coach-owner's upbeat annual earnings forecast.
PC makers Dell Technologies and HP gained 2.5% and 4%, respectively, after earnings from China's Lenovo beat expectations.
Separately, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, pointing to a stable jobs market, data showed.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.37-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 114 new highs and 52 new lows.
(Reporting by Avinash P and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
