Wall Street Indexes Hovered Near Record Highs as Investors Reviewed Jobless Claims and July's PPI

Barry Adams
14 Aug, 2025
New York City

Wall Street indexes flatlined and hovered near record highs as investors digested the latest batch of earnings. 

The S&P 500 index edged down 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4%, as investors reviewed the latest weekly jobless claims and the producer price index reading. 

 

July's PPI Rebound Dented Rate Cut Hopes

July's producer price index rose 3.3% from a year ago and advanced 0.9% from the previous month, surpassing market expectations. 

The annual PPI advanced at the fastest pace since February, when the measure of wholesale prices increased 3.4%, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The elevated wholesale price index dented hopes that the Federal Reserve may increase rates at its policy meeting next month. 

The annual core producer price inflation, which excludes food and energy, accelerated to 3.7% in July from 2.6% in the previous month.  

 

Initial Jobless Claims Eased, Continuing Claims Hovered Near 2 Million

Initial weekly jobless claims decreased 3,000 to 224,000 in the week ending on August 9, according to the Department of Labor.

The previous week's initial claims were revised lower by 1,000 to 226,000. 

The continuing claims, which lag by one week, decreased by 15,000 from the previous week's revised level to 1.953 million. 

The previous week's continuing claims were revised down by 6,000 to 1.97 million.  

 

Tariffs May Not Show Up In Inflation Numbers for Several Months

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite closed at new highs in the previous session after cooler-than-expected inflation soothed investor anxieties. 

The Department of Treasury collected about $29 billion in "customs and excise taxes" in July, sharply higher than $8.7 billion in the month a year ago. 

Despite the sharp increase in import duties, most retailers and businesses have, for now, not passed over higher import duties to customers. But that is likely to change in the months ahead if import taxes cover more items and escalate.

To put things in perspective, total nominal retail and food services sales in July, including automobiles and gasoline, are likely to reach $725.0 billion. 

So for now, tariffs are not a big factor impacting consumer decisions, but that could change as more items face higher tariffs beginning in August. 

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

Cisco Systems decreased 1.3% to $69.33 despite the networking equipment maker reporting higher sales and earnings. 

Consolidated revenue increased to $14.7 billion from $13.6 billion, net income advanced to $2.8 billion from $2.2 billion, and diluted earnings per share rose to 71 cents from 54 cents a year ago.

During the fourth quarter, Cisco returned a total of $2.9 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, including the repurchase of 1.3 million shares of common stock.

Brinker International decreased 0.2% to $157.12 despite the parent company of the Chili's restaurant chain reporting an 88% jump in its earnings in the fourth quarter.

Consolidated revenue inched higher to $1.5 billion from $1.2 billion, net income jumped to $107 million from $57 million, and diluted earnings per share soared to $2.30 from $1.24 a year ago.

Comparable restaurant sales increased by 21.3%, driven by a 23.7% increase at Chili's and a 0.4% decrease at Maggiano's restaurant chains.

During the fourth quarter, Brinker returned a total of $507 million to shareholders through share repurchases.

Coherent Corp. dropped 19% to $91.91, and the advanced semiconductor and optical materials maker's results disappointed investors. 

In addition, the company announced the sale of its aerospace and defense business for $400 million to Advent Technologies Holdings. 

Ibotta Inc. dropped 34% to $22.32, and the promotion technology provider reported a decline in revenue in the second quarter. 

Revenue fell 2% to $86.0 million from $87.9 million, and net income swung to a profit of $2.49 million from a loss of $33.96 million. and diluted earnings per share was a profit of 8 cents compared to a loss of $1.32 a year ago. 

Deere & Company declined 6.5% to $480.0 after the agriculture equipment company offered a mixed outlook for the full year.