PPI Relief Rally, With Cloud Leading the Charge

Right now the S&P 500 is up 0.60% near 7,795 and the Nasdaq is up 0.81% near 26,804, both stretching their gains further than where I last checked in. This morning's July producer price reading came in softer than expected, and that eased worries about inflation just enough to get people reaching for risk assets again. Cloud names are running hot while industrials and financials are lagging behind, so the split is pretty stark today, and a Cleveland Fed president's remark that inflation is still broad-based and rates need to go up higher casts a small shadow over the relief. In my own book, Microsoft (+25.7%) and Freeport-McMoRan (+9.5%) are still sitting comfortably while Amazon (-6.6%) hasn't climbed out of the red, and into the close I'm watching whether this inflation-relief mood keeps outrunning that hawkish talk.