US markets today: Wall Street heads for records; S&P 500, Nasdaq rise; Oracle surges on AI contracts

Wall Street moved higher on Wednesday as an unexpectedly encouraging report on wholesale inflation and strong corporate growth forecasts from Oracle buoyed investor sentiment, pushing major indexes toward record territory.The S&P 500 gained 0.5% and was on track to set an all-time high for a second straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5% after both indexes also hit records the previous day, AP reported.Stocks have been rallying as Wall Street anticipates a delicate balancing act: an economy slowing enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but not so much that it risks a recession, all while keeping inflation in check. Wednesday’s report showed US wholesale inflation unexpectedly slowed in August, easing concerns after months of upward pressure, including tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.Chris Larkin, managing director for trading and investing at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley, said, “The report essentially rolled out the red carpet for a Fed rate cut next week.” Research strategist Ahmad Assiri at Pepperstone added, “The broader narrative is increasingly anchored on expectations that the Fed will deliver a rate cut at next week’s meeting.”Tech stocks led the rally after Oracle projected strong AI-driven growth. CEO Safra Catz said the company signed four multi-billion-dollar contracts in its latest quarter and expects cloud infrastructure revenue to jump 77% to $18 billion this fiscal year, with further growth to $144 billion in four years. Oracle stock soared 34.8%, marking its potential best day since 1992. Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said, “AI changes everything.”Other beneficiaries of the AI boom included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., whose US-traded shares rose 3.1% after reporting August revenue up nearly 34% year-on-year, and Nvidia, up 3.7%, driving gains in the S&P 500. On the downside, Synopsys fell 31.3% after missing profit expectations and issuing a cautious forecast.Meanwhile, Swedish “buy now, pay later” firm Klarna made its US debut, pricing its shares at $40 each, $4 higher than expected.Overseas markets were mixed, with South Korea’s Kospi climbing 1.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rising 1%, while European indexes saw modest gains.In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield eased to 4.05% from 4.08% late Tuesday as wholesale inflation data supported expectations for upcoming Fed rate cuts.