The S&P 500 and Nasdaq touched fresh intraday record highs on Thursday, driven by strong gains in technology stocks led by chip giant NVIDIA, while investors assessed economic data and tracked developments surrounding the high-stakes US-China summit.
At 9:54 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 270.32 points, or 0.54 percent, to 49,963.52. The S&P 500 gained 28.32 points, or 0.38 percent, to 7,472.57, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 92.85 points, or 0.35 percent, to 26,495.19.
Nvidia Extends AI-Fuelled Rally
Nvidia climbed 3 percent, pushing the chipmaker’s market valuation to about $5.6 trillion.
The gains came after Reuters reported, citing sources, that the United States had cleared nearly 10 Chinese firms to purchase Nvidia’s second-most powerful artificial intelligence chip, the H200.
Technology stocks, particularly chipmakers, have driven Wall Street’s recent rally to record highs despite lingering concerns over the Middle East conflict and rising inflation linked to higher oil prices.
Cisco Jumps After Restructuring Announcement
Shares of Cisco Systems surged 14.7 percent to an all-time high after the networking giant announced plans to cut nearly 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring exercise.
The company also raised its annual revenue forecast following a sharp rise in hyperscaler orders.
Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, nine traded in positive territory, with the technology sector leading gains and rising 1 percent.
Retail Sales Data Signals Consumer Caution
US retail sales rose 0.5 percent in April, matching market estimates. However, analysts said part of the increase was likely driven by inflation as the war with Iran pushed up energy and commodity prices.
“Consumers aren’t in a recession, but they’re not powering the economy either. Higher inflation, tariffs and demographic changes have taken a toll on retail spending as a growth driver,” said David Russell, Global Head of Market Strategy at TradeStation.
“Today’s retail numbers don’t ring any alarm bells at the Fed, so they keep an upward bias on interest rates. The consumer is strong enough to rule out rate cuts,” he added.
Separately, the number of Americans filing unemployment benefit claims rose moderately last week, indicating a stable labour market.
Trump-Xi Summit In Focus
Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump at the start of a two-day summit on Thursday that trade discussions were making progress.
However, Xi warned that tensions surrounding Taiwan could place bilateral relations on a dangerous path and potentially risk conflict.
The summit is also taking place against the backdrop of the ongoing Iran conflict. A White House official said the leaders agreed that the strait should remain open and that Iran should never acquire nuclear weapons.
Fed Rate Hike Expectations Rise
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had also closed at record highs on Wednesday, extending Wall Street’s recent rally.
Stronger-than-expected consumer and producer price readings this week reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could maintain restrictive monetary policy for longer.
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According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, traders are now pricing in more than a 28 percent chance of a quarter-point rate hike by the end of the year, compared with 20.7 percent a week earlier.
Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by a ratio of 1.7-to-1 on the NYSE and 1.03-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
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The S&P 500 recorded 17 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite posted 50 new highs and 75 new lows.
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