Key Takeaways
- U.S. equities gained at midday Wednesday, June 12, 2024, with the S&P 500 reaching a record high after a softer-than-expected inflation report.
- Oracle shares surged to an all-time high on the company’s cloud infrastructure deals with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Alphabet’s Google Cloud.
- Shares of D.R. Horton and other home builders advanced as the inflation news boosted optimism borrowing costs will fall.
U.S. equities were higher at midday after a softer-than-expected inflation report , raising optimism the Federal Reserve can cut interest rates. The S&P 500 reached a record high, while the Dow and Nasdaq also rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note sank.
The possibility of lower borrowing costs helped send shares of D.R. Horton ( DHI ) and rival home builders higher.
Rentokil Initial ( RTO ) American depositary receipts (ADRs) also soared following reports Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners has taken a large stake in the British pest control firm.
Oracle ( ORCL ) shares surged to an all-time high , leading S&P 500 gains on the company’s cloud infrastructure deals with Microsoft ( MSFT ), OpenAI, and Alphabet’s ( GOOGL ) Google Cloud for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
Casey’s General Stores ( CASY ) shares also reached a record high as the convenience store and gas station operator beat profit and sales estimates, posted strong full-year guidance, and boosted its dividend on higher food and drink sales.
Exelon ( EXC ) shares dropped after Maryland regulators rejected the utility’s rate hike proposal, allowing less than 40% of what it requested.
Shares of Elevance Health ( ELV ) fell when the health insurer gave an update to its full-year earnings outlook.
Oil and gold futures advanced. The U.S. dollar lost ground to the euro, pound, and yen. Prices for most major cryptocurrencies jumped.