Market Shrugs Off Report on Inflation

Investors have been worried about rising inflation for weeks now, but a new report showing a big jump in May didn't much faze the markets on Thursday. The Dow rose 19 points to 34,466, the S&P 500 rose 19 points to 4,239, and the Nasdaq climbed 108 points to 14,020. The S&P close is a record high, reports CNBC. As the AP sees it, the inflation report showing a 5% increase from the previous year seemed to reinforce the belief that any spike this year will be temporary and largely the result of one-off problems related to the pandemic.

“Keep in mind that as we start to make our way back to a full economic recovery, there is pent up demand and supply constraints from raw material and labor shortages,” says Mike Loewengart of E-Trade Financial. “This creates the type of inflation that the Fed believes is transitory, meaning it too shall pass. Whether or not they are correct remains to be seen.” Meanwhile, jobless claims fell to 376,000 last week, another sign of a recovering economy, notes the Wall Street Journal. (More stock market stories.)