Stocks rose on Thursday as traders anticipated that the latest reading of a key consumer inflation gauge won’t stand in the way of the Federal Reserve lowering its benchmark interest rate next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 504 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4%. All three major averages scored new intraday all-time highs in the trading day. It was a confusing batch of numbers, with the consumer price index reading for August coming in hotter than expected on a monthly basis but in line with expectations on an annual basis. The CPI reading showed an increase of 0.4% for the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, higher than the 0.3% that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting. However, the index recorded 2.9% on a 12-month basis, as expected. Additionally, so-called core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy, increased 0.3% in August and 3.1% from a year ago. Both were in line with the Dow Jones forecasts. Adding to the U.S. economic picture, weekly jobless claims saw a surprise jump. The figure for the week ended Sept. 6 increased 27,000 from the previous period to a seasonally adjusted 263,000, the highest level since October 2021. That’s more than the 235,000 that was penciled in. Traders still generally expect that the Fed will cut rates by a quarter percentage point on Sept. 17, per the CME FedWatch tool. They even slightly increased their bets that the central bank will cut by a half percentage point. “A quarter-point cut is a layup and the number still keeps a half-point cut on the table, especially when looking at the jobless data,” said Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “The bottom line is watch the 10-year Treasury yield. If we see a 3-handle on the 10-year, then the market could rally here.” Thursday’s action follows a second straight finish at all-time closing highs for the S&P 500, fueled by Oracle’s monster rally. The Nasdaq Composite finished marginally above its flatline, while the Dow lost more than 200 points. Traders cheered Oracle’s growth outlook for its cloud business, and shares saw their best day since 1992 Wednesday and added $244 billion in market cap. Traders also saw it as a positive indicator for the artificial intelligence trade at large. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 4% Thursday as investors assessed the latest inflation data, as well as a jump in jobless claims, that complicate the interest rate outlook. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was last down by more than 3 basis points at 4.00%. The 30-year Treasury yield fell more than 2 basis points to 4.649%, as the 2-year yield dropped more than 3 basis points to hit 3.494%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 notched a record high of 44,396.95 on Thursday, mirroring gains on Wall Street overnight on Fed-rate cut hopes and positive inflation data. The index subsequently pared some gains, adding 1.22% to close at 44,372.5. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.9% to the highest close on record at 3,344.2, and the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.21% to 834.76. Over in Australia, the ASX/S&P 200 declined 0.29% to end the day at 8,805. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.21%, while the Hang Seng Tech index rose 0.23%. The mainland’s CSI 300 jumped 2.31% to close at 4,548.03. Oil prices retreated on Thursday on worries over softening U.S. demand and broad oversupply risks, but losses were limited by concerns over attacks in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures were down 37 cents, or 0.6%, at $67.12 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 43 cents, or 0.7%, to $63.22. The benchmark contracts gained more than $1 each on Wednesday following Israel’s attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar the day before, and as Poland scrambled its own and NATO air defenses to shoot down suspected Russian drones that had strayed into its airspace during an attack on western Ukraine. Gold prices pared losses on Thursday, holding at near-record highs as soft U.S. jobs data outweighed concerns from firmer inflation data, with investors still betting on the Federal Reserve easing interest rates next week. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $3,632.99 per ounce. Bullion had hit a record high of $3,673.95 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.3% to $3,671.50. “Gold is being ‘saved’ by the sharp jump in weekly initial jobless claims, which hit a three-year high at 263,000 while core CPI remains elevated at 0.3% month-on-month,” said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader.