S&P 500 climbs to a new record close, shrugging off inflation fears; European stocks close mixed as U.S. inflation surges; ECB holds steady 
The S&P 500 rose to an all-time high on Thursday as investors shrugged off a key inflation report that showed a bigger-than-expected increase in price pressures. 
The broad equity benchmark climbed 0.5% to a record closing high of 4,239.18. The S&P 500 also hit an intraday record of 4,249.74, overtaking its May 7 high after the market traded sideways for a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 19.10 points, or 0.1%, to 34,466.24, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8% to 14,020.33. 
Consumer prices for May accelerated at their fastest pace since the summer of 2008 amid the economic recovery from the pandemic-triggered recession, the Labor Department reported Thursday. 
The consumer price index, which represents a basket including food, energy, groceries and prices across a spectrum of goods, rose 5% from a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a gain of 4.7%. 
A separate report released Thursday showed that jobless claims for the week ended June 5 came in at 376,000, versus a Dow Jones estimate of 370,000. The total still marked the lowest of the pandemic era. 
UPS shares rose about 1% after an upgrade from JPMorgan. Shares of Boeing and Delta Air Lines were also higher. 
Video-game retailer and meme stock GameStop fell 27% even after the company tapped former Amazon executive Matt Furlong to be its next CEO and said that sales rose 25% last quarter. The company also said it may sell up to 5 million additional shares. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed marginally higher, with the major bourses struggling for direction. In terms of sectors, telecoms stocks rose 1.2% while travel shares slipped 1.2%. The European Central Bank opted to keep interest rates and asset purchases unchanged on Thursday, despite the recent overshoot of its inflation target. 
In terms of individual share price movement, BT rose to the top of the Stoxx 600, climbing 6.6% after French telco Altice said it was taking a 12% stake in the company. 
Source: CNBC