The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that the Dow closed at its highest level in nearly two years as investors enjoyed a banner month for stocks and viewed cooling inflation data as a harbinger of easing Federal Reserve monetary policy. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that the Dow was the clear outperformer, with a boost from Salesforce on the heels of its consensus-beating earnings report. The S&P 500 closed modestly green, while tech and tech-adjacent momentum stocks, led by Nvidia, pulled Nasdaq into negative territory. Still, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched their largest monthly percentage gain since July, 2022. Canada's main stock index also rose on Thursday and posted its biggest monthly advance in three years. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended at 20,236.29, up 120.09. For the month, it was up 7.2 per cent. Among data released Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report showed inflation is cooling as expected, along with consumer spending. The data reinforced expectations that the Fed has completed its rate hiking cycle. In Toronto, financials added 1.2 per cent as RBC and the CIBC advanced strongly after beating quarterly profit estimates.