This content was published on
August 13, 2026 - 14:44
4 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders drove stocks higher and bond yields fell as more evidence that inflation isn’t broadly accelerating reinforced bets the Federal Reserve will refrain from raising rates next month.Equities were poised for back-to-back gains a day after the S&P 500 closed at a striking distance of its all-time highs. Treasury two-year yields, which are more sensitive to imminent Fed moves, dropped four basis points to 4.16%. US oil declined to around $81, with traders parsing how much oil is crossing the Strait of Hormuz as a deal to end the Iran war remains elusive.US wholesale inflation decelerated in July from a year earlier by more than estimated, helped by a further decline in energy and food costs. The producer price index rose 4.7% from July 2025 after a 5.5% annual increase in June. On a month-over-month basis, the PPI was unchanged.The report showed that inflation, while still way above the Fed’s 2% target, is showing signs of stabilization following the oil-driven surge since the Iran war began earlier this year, according to Glen Smith at GDS Wealth Management.“This is good news for consumers and the Federal Reserve, which is walking an extremely tight line between trying to tame inflation, while monitoring a softening labor market,” he said.The figures may give the Fed more room to weigh inflation pressures against a recent slowdown in hiring as it debates whether to lift borrowing costs in September. Officials will see additional reports before the meeting, and investors will be listening closely to Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s expected remarks at the annual Jackson Hole symposium later this month.Inflation running above the Fed’s target and swelling budget deficits have contributed to elevated long-dated yields. The US government is about to sell 30-year bonds at the highest interest rate in a quarter of a century, after a historic selloff that has stirred speculation the nation will tilt borrowing further toward short-dated maturities.Separate data showed jobless applications rose to 209,000 last week after hovering near historic lows.Fed Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin laid out an argument to hold interest rates steady in light of signs that inflation is declining, but also acknowledged the risk that some price pressures could become embedded, eventually forcing officials to tighten policy.“Much of today’s elevated inflation level has come from shocks, which should pass,” Barkin said Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina, citing tariffs and the oil shock from the Iran war.Corporate Highlights:Cisco Systems Inc. projected $7.5 billion in sales tied to the AI data center boom this fiscal year, disappointing investors who’ve seen the world’s largest networking gear supplier amass $9.3 billion in artificial intelligence-related orders over the past year. Cerebras Systems Inc. projected slower growth than some investors anticipated, a sign the company is still in the early stages of popularizing a novel chip design. Anthropic PBC is in talks to buy the artificial-intelligence startup Decart AI for about $6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Lenovo Group Ltd. expects to grow revenue to $100 billion this fiscal year, boosting its outlook after demand for AI hardware helped its first-quarter results beat analyst estimates by a wide margin. Birkenstock Holding Plc nudged its sales forecast to the upper limit of its target range and posted strong quarterly earnings as consumers snap up more of its high-end sandals and clogs. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 8:44 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1% The MSCI World Index was little changed CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1531 The British pound was little changed at $1.3496 The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.28 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin was little changed at $63,520.46 Ether was little changed at $1,885.18 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.66% Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.14% Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.96% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.3% to $81.33 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,392.60 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
