The S&P 500 (SPX) rose fractionally to finish at a record for the third straight day, after spending most of the session in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) both shed less than 0.1%. Entering today’s session the Nasdaq had closed at a record high in four of the previous five sessions, while the Dow is only about 100 points away from its first new high since December.

Stocks got a boost earlier this week from consumer price data that showed inflation held steady in July, news that reinforced market expectations that the Federal Reserve will be in a position to cut interest rates at its next policy meeting in September. This morning, however, the Producer Price Index report showed that wholesale inflation in July was considerably hotter than economists had expected. The latest inflation news tempered, at least temporarily, the hopes for rate cuts, as the Fed would be reticent to adjust policy if inflation pressures are building.

Intel (INTC) shares jumped more than 7% to pace S&P 500 advancers, surging late in the session following a report that the U.S. government is weighing the possibility of taking a stake in the beleaguered chipmaker. Just last week, President Donald Trump called on Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to step down. On Monday, following a meeting at the White House with Tan, Trump sounded a more positive tone about the CEO and said discussions between the company and cabinet members would continue.

Shares of the world’s largest technology companies, which have an outsized influence on the broader market, were mostly higher on Thursday. Amazon (AMZN) shares climbed 3%, while Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) inched higher. Tesla (TSLA) shares declined 1%, while Apple (AAPL) fell slightly.