U.S. stock indexes rose on Wednesday amid data showing easing inflation and a strong start to the second-quarter earnings season, which created a favorable mood among investors for buying.

Analysts expect the profits of companies included in the S&P 500 to increase by an average of 23.7% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, according to LSEG data.

U.S. producer prices (PPI) rose 5.5% year-on-year in June, the Labor Department reported. Thus, the pace of increase slowed compared with 6% in May.

The PPI in June fell 0.3% compared with the previous month. This was the first decline in nearly a year (since August 2025) and the sharpest since April last year (when prices also fell 0.3%). Analysts had not forecast any change in prices month-on-month.

The Empire Manufacturing Index rose to 15.6 points in July from 5.7 points a month earlier, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported. Experts had expected an increase to 8.8 points.

Shares of payment service PayPal Holdings surged 17.2%. The reason was reports in the U.S. media that fintech startup Stripe Inc. and investment firm Advent International had submitted an offer to buy PayPal, valuing it at more than $53 billion.

BlackRock jumped 6.6%. The world’s largest investment company by assets under management posted adjusted profit and revenue for April-June above market expectations.

Morgan Stanley shares rose 0.4%. One of the largest U.S. banks increased its net profit 1.6-fold and revenue by 27% in the second quarter, with both indicators exceeding analysts’ forecasts.

Bank of New York Mellon shares also gained 5.1% thanks to strong earnings.

Lucid Group shares soared 28.8% after falling 16% in the previous session. The electric vehicle maker denied rumors of possible bankruptcy or a move to private ownership.

At the same time, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem Inc.) fell 8.5%. The insurer raised its profit forecast for the current year to at least $27 per share from the previously expected below $26.75, while experts on average had expected $26.86.

Johnson & Johnson shares fell 2.7%, despite the fact that the world’s largest health products maker improved its 2026 revenue forecast.

Conagra Brands slipped 0.4%. The producer of prepared foods ended its fourth fiscal quarter (March-May) with a loss and also announced a halving of its dividend.

Shares of a number of semiconductor industry representatives also declined, including Advanced Micro Devices, down 3.5%, Intel Corp., down 4.4%, Applied Materials, down 2.7%, and Micron Technology, down 8%. An exception was Nvidia Corp., whose shares rose 0.3%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 150.37 points (0.29%) on Wednesday to 52,658.64 points.

The Standard & Poor's 500 increased by 28.81 points (0.38%) by the close of trading to 7,572.4 points.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 162.22 points (0.62%) and ended the session at 26,269.23 points.