(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
*
Delta Air Lines up after it lifts profit outlook
*
Producer prices barely rise in June; core PPI subsides
*
Indexes up: Dow 0.2%, S&P 500 0.8%, Nasdaq 1.5%
(Updates to mid-afternoon, adds NEW YORK dateline)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were higher in afternoon trading on Thursday, extending recent gains, with the Nasdaq up more than 1% as data showed the annual increase in U.S. producer inflation was the smallest in nearly three years.
The data provided more evidence that inflation pressures were subsiding. Wednesday's CPI report showed U.S. consumer prices registered their smallest annual increase in more than two years.
The reports have helped to support the view the Federal Reserve will stop hiking rates after an expected 25 basis points rate increase later this month.
"PPI is another confirmation this week that inflation continues to trend in the right direction even as we see better overall labor market and consumer data. That is a good sign," said Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.
In the 12 months through June, the producer price index climbed 0.1%. That was the smallest year-on-year gain since August 2020 and followed a 0.9% increase in May.
Among the day's best perfomers, U.S. chip stocks rallied, with Nvidia jumping to a record high and the Philadelphia semiconductor index touching its highest level since January 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61.97 points, or 0.18%, to 34,409.4, the S&P 500 gained 33.61 points, or 0.75%, to 4,505.77 and the Nasdaq Composite added 204.16 points, or 1.47%, to 14,123.12.
Offsetting some of the day's upbeat tone, a separate report showed weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week, indicating that the labor market remains tight.
Focus also is shifting to the second-quarter U.S. earnings season, which essentially kicks off this week.
Delta Air Lines gained 1.6% after it lifted its full-year profit outlook following stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings on a relentless post-pandemic travel boom.
PepsiCo added 2.1% on raising its annual revenue and profit forecasts for the second time.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.89-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.05-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 46 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 129 new highs and 35 new lows.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Johann M Cherian and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru and Sinead Carew in New York; Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Maju Samuel and Deepa Babington)
