Stock Market Today: Stocks Close at Record Highs After April CPI
Bulls stormed Wall Street today after a key inflation report showed consumer price growth cooled in April.


Stocks opened higher Wednesday and kept climbing into the close as market participants cheered encouraging inflation news. A strong rally in several large- and mega-cap tech stocks created tailwinds, too, with the three main indexes notching record highs.
Wall Street was anxiously awaiting this morning's release of the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the data did not disappoint. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said headline CPI was up 0.4% month-to-month and 3.4% year-over-year in April, lower than what was seen in March.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also eased from the month prior, with the annual 3.6% increase the smallest since April 2021.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The April CPI report was "welcome news after the hot prints in the first quarter," says Gianmaria Feleppa, market expert and CEO of UCapital Fintech Group. While it looks like "the soft-landing scenario for the economy continues to play out," the decline in the inflation data is not enough to indicate the Fed will start cutting rates soon, he adds.
Feleppa calls expectations for a September interest rate cut "overly optimistic" and says "the market should listen" to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when he says he "expects rates to stay higher for longer."
3M halves its dividend
In single-stock news, 3M (MMM) rose 1.2% after the Post-It maker slashed its quarterly dividend payment to 70 cents from $1.51 per share.
The move has been anticipated for weeks after the company readjusted its dividend payout ratio following the spinoff of its Solventum (SOLV, -4.1%) healthcare business. Additionally, it was "smaller than feared," said UBS Global Research analyst Damian Karas (Neutral, the equivalent of Hold).
3M's announcement snaps the company's 64-year streak of hiking its dividend and kicks it out of the Dividend Aristocrats. MMM has long been a member of this group of the best dividend stocks for dependable growth in the S&P 500 that have raised their payouts for 25 straight years.
Dell pops on upbeat analyst note
Elsewhere, Dell (DELL) shot up 11.2% after Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring lifted his price target on the computer company to $152, matching the highest outlook on Wall Street.
The analyst says that demand for Dell's artificial intelligence (AI) server storage and services could boost fiscal 2025 earnings to $8 per share and fiscal 2026 earnings to $10.12 per share. By comparison, Dell disclosed fiscal 2024 earnings of $7.13 per share in late February.
Woodring says that Dell remains a top pick, and points to the company's late-May turn on the earnings calendar and expectations it will eventually be added to the S&P 500 as potential catalysts.
Dell was hardly the only tech stock rallying today. Mega-cap chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) jumped 3.6%, while Super Micro Computer (SMCI) – a recent addition to the S&P 500 – spiked 15.8%.
As for the main indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9% to 39,908, the S&P 500 rose 1.2% to 5,308, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.4% to 16,742. All three benchmarks ended the day at new record closes.
Related content
- When Is the Next CPI Report?
- What Is Stagflation and How Can Investors Prepare?
- Can Stocks Picked by Artificial Intelligence Beat the Market? 3 Stocks to Watch
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Step Back From New Highs
Investors, traders and speculators continue the low-volume summer grind against now-familiar uncertainties.
-
Ask the Editor — Tax Questions on the New Senior Deduction
Ask the Editor In this week's Ask the Editor Q&A, we answer tax questions from readers on the new $6,000 deduction for taxpayers 65 and older.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Step Back From New Highs
Investors, traders and speculators continue the low-volume summer grind against now-familiar uncertainties.
-
Do You Need Flood Insurance? I'm an Insurance Expert, and Here's Where You Can Get It
Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, so you might need separate flood insurance, which you can get either through FEMA or private companies. Here are the details.
-
I'm an Investment Professional: These Are the Three Money Tips I'm Giving My College Grad
College grads can help set themselves up for financial independence by focusing on emergency savings, opting into a 401(k) at work (if it's offered) and disciplined, long-term investing.
-
Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Hit New Highs on Retail Sales Revival
Strong consumer spending and solid earnings for AI chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing boosted the broad market.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Berkshire Hathaway Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Berkshire Hathaway is a long-time market beater, but the easy money in BRK.B has already been made.
-
New SALT Cap Deduction: Unlock Massive Tax Savings with Non-Grantor Trusts
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's increase of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap creates an opportunity to use multiple non-grantor trusts to maximize deductions and enhance estate planning.
-
Know Your ABDs? A Beginner's Guide to Medicare Basics
Medicare is an alphabet soup — and the rules can be just as confusing as the terminology. Conquer the system with this beginner's guide to Parts A, B and D.
-
I'm an Investment Adviser: Why Playing Defense Can Win the Investing Game
Chasing large returns through gold and other alternative investments might be thrilling, but playing defensive 'small ball' with your investments can be a winning formula.