THE S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged to fresh records again on Thursday as investors digested improving inflation data and strong earnings from artificial intelligence player Broadcom.

The producer price index declined by 0.2 per cent in May down sharply from a 0.5 per cent rise seen in April and very different from the 0.1 per cent increase that had been predicted.

While the better inflation news is welcome, the stock market’s advance was limited because investors focused on consolidating the “strong gains of late,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2 per cent to 38,647.10.

The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.2 per cent to 5,433.74, while tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 per cent to 17,667.56.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have now closed at records for four straight days.

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Among individual companies, Broadcom surged 12.2 per cent as it lifted its full-year forecast on strong demand for artificial intelligence programmes. The chip company also announced a ten-for-one stocks split.

Tesla rose 2.9 per cent after Musk said shareholders backed his proposed compensation plan of up to US$56 billion, as well as a transfer of the carmaker’s place of incorporation from Delaware to Texas.

Markets had viewed a defeat as a potential negative for Tesla if Musk had chosen to exit the company. AFP

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