U.S. stocks are ticking higher after a rally spurred by hopes for lower U.S. interest rates wrapped around the world.

On Wall Street, stocks of companies that could benefit most from lower interest rates helped lead the way. PulteGroup climbed 5.4%, and Lennar rose 5.2% as part of a broad rally for homebuilders and others in the housing industry. Lower rates could make mortgages cheaper to get, which could spur more buying.

Signs that U.S. tariffs on imports have not fully filtered into headline consumer prices came as a relief for investors this week as they seek insight on the impact of trade uncertainty on the economy.

The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hovered near record highs on Wednesday as investors were increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve could restart its monetary policy easing cycle next month.

The S&P 500 rose 16.9 points, or 0.26%, to 6462.67​, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 82.6 points, or 0.38%, to 21764.548.