By David French (Reuters) -Wall Street benchmarks ended modestly higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite posting its latest record finish, despite a chaotic half hour when news reports suggested U.

This past April, when President Donald Trump started flirting with the notion of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, stocks and the dollar tumbled because investors worried that even talking about such a move crossed a red line.

Wall Street ended Wednesday on top as markets grinded out a win in the wake of the latest PPI data and news that President Trump indicated that he will fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

Wall Street benchmarks closed modestly higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite achieving its latest record finish, despite a chaotic half hour when news reports suggested U.S. President Donald Trump was set to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Another batch of upbeat U.S. economic data including solid retail sales boosted risk appetite on Thursday, pushing to the back of investors' minds President Donald Trump's attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell and lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to fresh record highs.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is under fire from the White House, which accuses him of bungling a renovation of the Fed's HQ and has suggested it could be cause to fire him.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board on Wednesday urged President Trump not to follow through on his threat to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, warning the consequences would be worse

The S&P 500 reverses earlier losses to close just shy of a record.