Stocks rose on Thursday as Apple shares recovered from losses in the previous session. Investor sentiment was also boosted as fears of rapidly rising inflation were tempered.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 147.07 points to 26,145.99 to post a three-day winning streak with Apple contributing the most to the gains. The climbed 0.5 percent to 2,904.18, led by a 1.2 percent gain in tech. The broad index also rose for a fourth straight day. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8 percent to 8,013.71 as Alphabet rose nearly 1 percent.
Equities came off their highs, however, after President Donald Trump said there was no pressure to strike a trade deal with China. The Dow had gained as much as 192.72 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose as much as 0.6 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
The consumer price index — a widely followed inflation metric — rose 0.2 percent last month. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 0.3 percent.
"Add in both yesterday's muted producer price numbers and the less than enthusiastic appraisal from the Fed, and we now have three separate signals that the economy is not the runaway train some feared," said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E-Trade. "In fact it suggests inflation is still in the Fed's sweet spot as we march towards a normalized rate environment."
Investors had grown fearful of rising inflation recently, as it could lead to tighter monetary policy. The Federal Reserve has raised rates twice this year and is forecast to hike again later this month.
The 10-year Treasury note yield traded lower for most of the day following the data release. The yield rose slightly to around 2.96 percent later in the day.Â
Ninh Chung, head of investment strategy and portfolio management at Silicon Valley Bank, said the data should not prevent the Fed from raising rates later this month, however. "I think the market would be very surprised if the Fed doesn't move in September.
Market expectations for a September rate hike are at 97.4 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. The market is also largely expecting a rate hike in December, with expectations at 83.3 percent.
"The Fed is eager to restore monetary policy back to normal," said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. "The labor market continues to give them the opportunity to do so" and inflation is on the rise.
Apple shares gave the broader equity market a boost as well as they rose 2.4 percent. Thursday's move comes after a 1.2 percent drop Wednesday as the unveiled three new iPhones.
Other tech stocks also rose on Thursday, including Nvidia and Micron. Shares of Micron rose 4.5 percent after hedge fund manager David Tepper told CNBC he is still "very, very long" the stock. Nvidia, meanwhile, gained 1.2 percent.Â
However, gains were capped after Trump poured cold water over the possibility of a restart to U.S.-China trade talks. In a tweet, Trump said: "We are under no pressure to make a deal with China, they are under pressure to make a deal with us."
The tweet comes after news emerged that the U.S. was seeking to reignite trade discussions with China. Sources familiar with these negotiations told CNBCÂ on Wednesday that the States was in the early stages of proposing a new round of trade talks with China in the near future.
This comes after a week of turmoil between the two nations, which saw China looking to seek permission from the World Trade Organization to inflict sanctions upon the U.S., and President Donald Trump stating last week that he was "ready to go" on hitting China with an additional amount of tariffs. Consequently, an air of cautiousness lingers for markets around the world.
Boeing shares closed 0.6 percent higher after rising as much as 2 percent. Caterpillar's stock ended Thursday's session up 0.9 percent after climbing as much as 1.5 percent. Boeing and Caterpillar are considered trade bellwethers because of their large exposure to overseas markets.