US stocks rose on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 heading for another round of records after Nvidia Corp's earnings unleashed a wave of optimism that sent global markets higher.
How are stocks traded?
-
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) added 400 points, or 1%, to trade at 39,012.
-
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 100 points, or 2%, to 5,082.
-
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 446 points, or 2.9%, to 16,025 points.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones posted gains to avoid a third day in the red, while the Nasdaq Composite wasn't so lucky.
What drives the markets?
Wall Street saw timid trading at the start of the week as many investors feared the stock rally that took the S&P 500 to a record closing high of 5,029.73 last Friday was muted if earnings emerged from tech giant Nvidia NVDA.
He disappoints.
They should have had more faith.
After the close on Wednesday, the chipmaker — which had by then fallen from the third to fifth-largest U.S. company by market value — delivered revenue, profits and forecasts that beat analysts' already high expectations.
“The entire market is having a strong day, basically a comfortable rally after Nvidia didn't disappoint, with growth and momentum names at the forefront, while utilities, consumer staples and energy are in the red,” said Nvidia founder Louis Navellier. Navier & Company.
The chipmaker's shares rose 15% in afternoon trading, boosting the company's market value by more than $230 billion and leaving it on track to surpass Meta Platforms Inc.'s META.
Nearly $200 billion gain earlier this month — which was the largest single-day market cap increase of any company in the history of the U.S. stock market.
Nvidia's advance helped push the Nasdaq Composite to within striking distance of its first record close since November 2021. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were on track for their biggest daily advance of 2024, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The good news from Nvidia's highly publicized earnings report sparked a global rise in risk-taking, helping to push benchmark stock gauges in Japan and Europe to record levels.
“The impact of the Nvidia news has been felt around the world,” Brad Conger, deputy chief investment officer at Hertel, Callahan & Co., told MarketWatch. “Semiconductor stocks have been rising from Japan to Europe, and in the U.S. everything that has a whiff of Artificial Intelligence.” “There are clearly tailwinds for silicon, with everything up and down the semiconductor supply chain.”
Nvidia's gains helped drag down other AI stocks such as Arm Holdings ARM,
And Super Micro Computer SMCI,
higher. Now, analysts see more room for AI's continued rise.
be seen: Stocks could become more expensive, the strategist says. Don't get hung up on FOMO right now.
US economic updates on Thursday included the latest reading of weekly unemployment claims, which fell to a five-week low of 201,000. S&P flash services and February manufacturing PMIs showed that the US economy is likely to continue expanding at an above-average pace this month. Meanwhile, existing home sales in January rose more than 3% and rose to their highest levels since August as buyers seized on low mortgage interest rates.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson said Thursday morning that he expects the central bank to begin cutting interest rates in 2024, but warned that if consumer spending fails to dampen progress in inflation it could stall.
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is scheduled to speak at 3:15 p.m. ET, while Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will speak at 5 p.m.
Stocks to watch
-
Newmont Company
no,
-7.54%
Shares saw a decline after the mining company announced plans to cut its dividend and sell non-core assets. -
Shares of electric car maker Rivian Automotive Company
Raven,
-26.45%
It lost more than a quarter of its value after reporting a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and guidance suggesting it will produce slightly fewer cars than it did in 2023. -
Modern company
flexible,
+15.97%
Shares jumped after the company reported surprising quarterly profits and sales that exceeded Wall Street expectations. -
shares Wayfair Company. w,
+7.59%
It rose Thursday after the online home furnishings retailer reported a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and said it had returned to positive active customer growth after two years of declines. -
Planet Fitness Company
Blunt
-2.94%
Shares fell after the company reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results, but weak guidance. -
A number of stocks exposed to the topic of artificial intelligence rose, including… Salesforce Company
customer relationship management,
+3.58%
And Service Now Company
now,
+2.93% . -
Companies that are part of the semiconductor supply chain, including stocks, also rose Applied Materials Company
surprising,
+5.59% .
—Jamie Chisholm contributed.
