(Updates with index/price moves from the first paragraph.)

US equity indexes rose, with the S&P 500 hitting a new high, after a soft producer price inflation report increased the probability of a sixth consecutive monetary policy pause in September, and crude oil prices slumped.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to 26,838.1, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 7,803.9 ahead of Thursday's close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% to 53,844.5, clawing out of intraday declines. The S&P 500 hit 7,816.70, its highest intraday level ever.

Communication services, real estate and technology topped the gainers, while materials led decliners.

The Producer Price Index held steady in July, following a 0.1% decrease in June, versus the 0.2% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. Energy prices fell by 3.1% in the month amid a 9.8% slide in natural gas liquids, a 6.7% slump in diesel fuel, and a 5.7% drop in gasoline prices. Excluding food and energy, core PPI climbed 0.2%, still below the 0.3% gain anticipated and a 0.4% increase in June.

Annually, PPI was up 4.7% in July, and core PPI increased by 4.2%, both slowing from June.

The probability of the Federal Reserve extending its policy pause to September jumped to 65% on Thursday, from 59% a day ago and 45% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, eight of the top 10 by returns were in the technology sector after midday Thursday, according to data compiled by Finviz. Sandisk (SNDK), the leader of this pack with a 14% surge in the final leg of trading, said it expects revenue growth in the mid-to-high-teens over fiscal 2028 through fiscal 2030.

Meanwhile, the front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract dropped 2.5% to $81.23 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 2.2% to $87.06 per barrel as traders weighed a downbeat demand-supply dynamic and a continuing stalemate in the Iran war.