S&P 500 posts 4th winning session

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The S&P 500 posted its fourth straight winning session on Thursday as US stocks closed the day higher with annual producer prices showing a slowdown in August.

The S&P 500 jumped 41 points, or 0.75% to finish the day at 5,595. The index is up 3.5% for the week so far.

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, soared 174 points, or 1%, to close Thursday at 17,569. The tech-heavy index rose 5.3% this week.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 235 points, or 0.58%, to finish the day at 41,096. The blue-chip index gained 1.9% since the beginning of this week.

Producer prices in the US annually rose 1.7% in August, slowing down from July's 2.1% increase, and coming below expectations of 1.8%, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Consumer inflation in the US rose 2.5% annually in August, marking the slowest annual increase since February 2021, and showing a significant slowdown from a year-on-year increase of 2.9% in July, according to data released by the bureau on Wednesday.

However, core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, gained 0.3% in August from the previous month, coming in higher than estimates of 0.2% and slightly gaining pace from the 0.2% increase in July.

Investors are now focused on the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that will conclude next Wednesday when the US central bank is widely expected to deliver its first interest rate cut, which would be the highest in more than four years.