CNBC Daily Open: The S&P 500 can hit a record high

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

Fourth day of wins
Major U.S. stock indexes ended Thursday in the green, their fourth consecutive day of gains. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index added 0.61%, with tech stocks advancing 1.7%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 managed to climb 0.32% even though the country's economy contracted 0.1% in May, according to official figures.

Another promising inflation reading
U.S. wholesale prices in June rose 0.1% from a year ago, the smallest increase since 2020. That's lower than economists' expectation of 0.4%. Excluding food, energy and trade services, the core producer price index rose 0.1%, lower than the forecasted 0.2%. Viewed in tandem with June's cooler-than-expected consumer price index, it seems like inflation is slowing down in the U.S.

Disney minus
Disney is open to selling its TV assets or finding a strategic partner for them, CEO Bob Iger told CNBC's David Faber on Thursday. The media giant owns networks from broadcast station ABC to cable-TV channels like ESPN. Iger also said Disney will slow down on producing content for its Marvel and Star Wars franchises, acknowledging increased output might have "diluted focus and attention."

Celsius charges
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was arrested Thursday on federal securities fraud charges, a source told CNBC. Celsius, which was charged by the SEC and CFTC with scheming to defraud investors out of billions, agreed to pay a $4.7 billion settlement. The crypto exchange faced years of issues before filing for bankruptcy in 2022, CNBC previously reported.

[PRO] Stagnating stocks?
Big banks kick off second-quarter earnings season later today. Analysts expect last quarter's earnings to bottom out. At the same time, everyone expects companies to beat expectations marginally. But that's not necessarily a good thing. CNBC Pro's Bob Pisani breaks down why stock prices might stagnate in that scenario.

The bottom line

Two days of cooler-than-expected inflation data juiced markets, giving major indexes their fourth day of gains in a row.

The S&P 500 increased 0.85%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.14% and the Nasdaq Composite popped 1.58%. The S&P and Nasdaq hit 52-week highs.

Furthermore, unlike the artificial intelligence rally in May, where most of the market gains were driven by seven stocks, Thursday's rally looks broad and deep, CNBC's Scott Schnipper notes. "Almost 2.4 stocks are rising Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange for every 1 decline," Schnipper writes. That could suggest markets have legs to ascend further.

Indeed, the big news yesterday isn't how well markets have been doing, but how much further they could progress — at least in the eyes of analysts.

"For first time in 2023 we are currently being asked by multiple clients if we think the S&P 500 is now on track to clock an [all-time high] before year end. I am going with a yes on this," Goldman Sachs partner John Flood wrote in a note Wednesday.

How high would that be? As high as 5,000 points, according to Peter Essele, head of portfolio management for Commonwealth Financial Network.

Tom Lee, who correctly called the stock market rally after June's softer-than-forecast inflation report, has a more modest target for the S&P. But he agrees that it could hit a record high — if recessionary fears can be dispelled by a strong earnings season.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi and BlackRock are some of the big names set to report earnings later today. They'll give investors an idea of how the consumer and investment banking sectors — bellwethers of the general economy — are doing, and whether a new peak for the S&P is truly within reach.