S&P 500, Nasdaq boosted by chips to record closing highs

STORY: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained ground on Wednesday with a boost from artificial intelligence-related tech shares.The Dow actually fell slightly while the S&P gained about six-tenths of one percent and the Nasdaq added double that with the two indexes notching record closing highs.The markets looked past data from the Labor Department showing producer prices jumped by 1.4% last month, the largest monthly increase in four years.Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist with U.S. Bank Asset Management says he isn’t sure if these numbers will persist and what impact they will have on profits.“Obviously, manufacturers and other importers are dealing with high prices due to tariffs and also due to high energy prices. I think the question is, this a temporary bump in producer prices or is it something that will ultimately eat into their profit margins? But we've seen strong investment in productivity tools . And we've seen profit margins remain pretty sturdy in here, which is driving corporate profits. But if this is a one-time blip, this can get managed through the corporate profit cycle.”The recent inflation data is dousing any remaining hopes for a near-term rate cut from the Federal Reserve. In fact, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said on Wednesday that a rate hike could be in the cards if inflation pressures fail to subside.Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, was confirmed by the Senate in a vote along party lines.:: FordStocks on the move included Ford which surged 13% following a Morgan Stanley report highlighting the strength of the company’s energy storage business. And Johnson & Johnson climbed nearly 3% after brokerage Leerink Partners upgraded shares to "outperform" from "market perform."