Wall Street ticks higher after Oracle rallies

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted higher following another encouraging update on inflation. The S&P 500 added 0.4% Thursday and is sitting less than 2% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. Treasury yields fell again in the bond market after an update on inflation at the wholesale level came in better than expected, while a report on joblessness was slightly worse than forecast. That raised expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates later this year. Oracle helped lift the stock market following its better-than-expected profit report…