By Avinash P and Purvi Agarwal
Aug 13 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 climbed to an intraday record high on Thursday, powered by advances in semiconductor and other heavyweight technology stocks, as a retreat in crude prices and a tame producer price inflation reading lifted risk appetite.
Sandisk and Micron were among the top gainers on the benchmark index, rising 15% and 5.6%, respectively. The broader chip index added 1.8% and hit a nearly one-month high.
Technology stocks also boosted the Nasdaq, while
the S&P 500 information technology index gained 0.9%, helped by modest gains in Microsoft, Nvidia and Apple.
"We're starting to see broad-based earnings really pick up across sectors ... where the value is not going to just solely be accrued to semiconductor and data center names, but now back into the actual model builders themselves," said Josh Chastant, managing director of public markets at GuideStone.
"That direction of travel will be good for the overall broad AI trade."
At 12:04 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 96.14 points, or 0.18%, to 53,674.13, the S&P 500 gained 33.09 points, or 0.43%, to 7,781.59 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 153.18 points, or 0.58%, to 26,741.66.
Cisco Systems dropped 9% despite the networking equipment maker forecasting fiscal 2027 revenue above Wall Street expectations and bogged down the Dow.
Brent crude futures retreated 3% 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.
U.S. producer prices were unchanged in July as goods prices fell and the cost of services increased marginally, while the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, pointing to a stable jobs market, data showed.
This follows benign July consumer inflation data that strengthened expectations that the Fed would hold interest rates steady at its next meeting.
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 1.6% below its own peak.
Robust earnings in several sectors, including technology, have provided the latest tailwind for U.S. stocks after a rocky start to the second half of 2026.
Netflix added 3.3% after billionaire investor Bill Ackman unveiled a new holding in the streaming giant as part of Pershing Square's biggest portfolio overhaul in years.
Tapestry shares plunged 14% after the Coach-owner forecast sluggish annual revenue growth.
PC makers Dell Technologies and HP gained 2.7% and 4%, respectively, after earnings from China's Lenovo beat expectations.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.78-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.41-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 129 new highs and 68 new lows.
(Reporting by Avinash P and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
