U.S. stocks rose on Thursday and the S&P 500 hit a record intraday high as investors juggled signs of a swift economic recovery with concerns over the Federal Reserve tapering its massive monetary stimulus.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index increased by a more-than-expected 0.6% last month. In the 12 months through May, CPI accelerated at its biggest year-on-year increase since August 2008. 

The jump partly reflected the dropping of last spring's weak readings from the calculation. These so-called base effects are expected to level off in June.

"The numbers were slightly more than expected, but not way outside of the range ... I don't think this going to change the Fed's view of keeping rates very low," said Mark Grant, chief global strategist, B. Riley Financial.

The S&P 500 (.SPX) hit a record high of 4,249.74. But heavyweight technology stocks were among the top performers, indicating that investors were still sticking to sectors that had proven reliable through the COVID-19 pandemic.