Dow and S&P 500 hovering near record highs, as weak factory and labor market news was offset by data indicating inflation pressure remains tame despite aggressive monetary policy.
Cisco Systems led gains in both the Dow and Nasdaq Composite with a 12 per cent surge after the network equipment maker posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and said current-quarter revenue could increase.
Reuters reported that Cisco shares shot up by 12.3 per cent to $23.82 after hitting $24.24, the highest since November 2010.
The US economy showed fresh signs of slower growth in the second quarter, with factory activity slipping in the mid-Atlantic region, while groundbreaking slumped at home construction sites.
New claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly jumped last week.
However, soft underlying inflation – which could point to weak demand in the economy – also means the Federal Reserve has room to continue the aggressive monetary policy that has provided a main pillar for the US stock market’s advance.
The S&P 500 was up by 16 per cent so far this year and trading at historic highs.
“The data wasn’t great, but it has recently surprised a little bit to the upside,” said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING Investment Management in New York.
“Inflation data was very good. It doesn’t put any pressure on the Fed. Investors are confident the Fed will continue to stimulate the economy.”
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 15.79 points or 0.10 per cent, to 15,291.48. The Standard & Poor’s 500 dipped by 0.23 of a point or 0.01 per cent, to 1,658.55. The Nasdaq Composite added 9.04 points or 0.26 per cent, to 3,480.66.
Earlier, the Dow reached a fresh all-time intraday high at 15,302.49.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated fell by 2.1 per cent to $78.22 and dragged on the Dow after the world’s largest retailer posted a quarterly profit that missed Wall Street’s expectations, with sales down by 1.4 per cent at US stores open at least a year.
Tesla Motors Incorporated gained 8.8 per cent to $92.28 after the electric carmaker said it aims to raise $830m through a stock-and-debt offering that will be used to repay its USDepartment of Energy loans with interest.