The Dow Jones Industrial index exceeded 40,000 for the first time Thursday, extending a strong year of stock market gains. The Dow hit 40,000.54 before dropping back, but it was the first time it had crossed that threshold; The Dow is now up about 6% so far this year. Markets were bolstered by gains from staple retailers like Walmart (WMT) which beat earnings expectations on Thursday morning and rose nearly 6%. Airlines, utilities and Big Tech stocks were largely higher.

Per CNN, markets rallied to new record highs after the latest Consumer Price Index showed a cooldown for the first time in months, increasing hopes that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates as soon as September. The Labor Department reported the consumer price index inflation rate was a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in April maintaining the annual inflation rate at 3.4%.

In response to the news, President Joe Biden shared on X: “This is great news for Americans’ retirement accounts and another sign of confidence in America’s economy. I’m building an economy from the middle out and bottom up — and our investments are making a difference.”

The S&P 500 crossed 5,000 for the first time in February, largely driven by the performance of seven big companies called the “Magnificent Seven” — Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Tesla. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P have all posted strong year-to-year increases with the Dow up 6% in 2024. The S&P and Nasdaq have increased 11% this year.

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