S&P 500 Stays Near Records After Mild July Inflation Report

U.S. stocks stayed near record levels after July CPI came in exactly in line with expectations, easing year-over-year inflation to 3.4% from 3.5% and keeping hopes alive that the Federal Reserve may not need to tighten further. The market initially rallied, then gave back most of its gains, suggesting the data had largely been priced in. The article emphasizes that the bigger market story was not the inflation report itself, but continued strength in AI-related semiconductor names. Micron and SK Hynix surged on better memory-chip demand forecasts, while Nvidia advanced and was the biggest positive contributor to major indexes after Super Micro’s strong earnings fueled optimism about AI server demand. The piece also notes that weak job data from the prior week plus tame inflation reduces the odds of a September rate hike, though oil prices and geopolitical risks remain a potential inflation wildcard.