PayPal surged 17.2%—its best day since the 2015 eBay spinoff—after reports that Stripe and Advent International offered $53 billion, or $60.50 a share, to buy the company.
A 0.3% monthly drop in June producer prices, plus downward revisions to April and May PPI, helped lift sentiment across Wall Street despite persistent chip-stock weakness.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 7,572, the Nasdaq gained 0.6% to 26,269 and the Dow added 0.3% to 52,658, reversing earlier declines seen after the inflation data.
Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet all advanced, while Micron fell 8.0% and Sandisk dropped 8.1%, limiting the broader market's upside.
BlackRock climbed 6.6% after earnings and became the first investment firm with more than $15 trillion under management, while Conagra slipped after halving its dividend.