A wall of blowout artificial intelligence infrastructure earnings pushed semiconductor and optical networking stocks sharply higher on Wednesday, dragging the Nasdaq 100 higher.
A July inflation print that landed exactly on consensus did the rest, pulling Treasury yields lower across the curve and trimming the odds of a September Federal Reserve rate hike.
The July consumer price index rose 0.1% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year, both in line with forecasts and a second straight annual deceleration from June's 3.5%.
Core CPI rose 0.2% on the month and cooled to 2.5% annually, the softest in five months.
Energy inflation slowed to a four-month low of 14.7%, with gasoline prices down 2.9% on the month.
