NEW YORK, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, as investors evaluated new inflation and labor data against growing expectations for a quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 235.06 points, or 0.58 percent, to 41,096.77. The S&P 500 added 41.63 points, or 0.75 percent, to 5,595.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 174.15 points, or 1.00 percent, to 17,569.68.
All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with communication services and consumer discretionary leading the gainers by adding 2.01 percent and 1.15 percent, respectively. Real estate posted the weakest growth, up by 0.10 percent.
The U.S. Labor Department's report on Thursday showed that U.S. wholesale price increases eased, supporting the view that inflationary pressures are subsiding. The producer price index (PPI), which measures inflation before it reaches consumers, rose 0.2 percent between July and August, compared to a flat reading the prior month. The PPI increased by just 1.7 percent year over year in August, marking the smallest annual gain since February.
The U.S. weekly jobless claims data released Thursday also reflected a marginal increase in the number of individuals filing for unemployment benefits, rising to 230,000 for the week ending Sept. 7.
"Producer prices are not too hot and the employment markets are not deteriorating too much either, so there is probably no need for the Fed officials to surprise the markets with a bigger-than-expected 50-basis-points rate cut next week," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS.
