The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose on Wednesday after inflation jumped, but not by quite as much as investors feared when stripping out volatile food and energy prices.
The 30-stock index headed north 220.3 points to finish Wednesday at 35,484.97, to reach a new closing record. The index was lifted by names like Caterpillar and Home Depot.
The S&P 500 added 5.17 points to 4,441.92, also notching an all-time high.
The NASDAQ dropped 53.85 points to 14,734.24.
Through Friday, 87% of the S&P 500 companies that reported quarterly results have beat earnings estimates. The same percentage of companies beat revenue estimates during that timeframe.
July's Consumer Price Index released Wednesday showed prices jumped 5.4% since last year, compared to expectations of 5.3%, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The government said CPI increased 0.5% in July on month-to-month basis.
But investors were concentrating on the core rate of inflation. CPI, excluding energy and food prices, rose by 0.3% last month, below the 0.4% increase expected. Core prices still jumped 4.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were higher, lowering yields to 1.33% from Tuesday's 1.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $1.01 to $69.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $22.40 to $1,754.10 U.S. an ounce.