Nvidia keeps flying and helps keep Wall Street near its records
Business
Nvidia keeps flying and helps keep Wall Street near its records
NEW YORK (AP) — Nvidia, the chip company that’s become Wall Street’s most influential stock, is rising again Thursday, and it’s helping to keep U.S. indexes around their records despite a mixed set of reports on the economy.
The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading after setting an all-time high for the 31st time this year before Wednesday’s holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 23 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was adding 0.3% to its own record.
Nvidia rose 3.4% after supplanting Microsoft on Tuesday as the most valuable company on Wall Street with a total market value of more than $3.3 trillion. It’s been on an incredible run as the main beneficiary of the stock market’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.
Nvidia’s chips are helping to power the move into AI, which proponents see producing explosive growth in productivity and profits, and it’s already up 183.3% this year after more than tripling last year.
The gains for Nvidia and other AI winners have helped to prop up the stock market despite some weakness in the U.S. economy. High interest rates meant to grind down inflation have hurt the housing market and manufacturing in particular, while lower-income households are showing signs of struggling to keep up with still-rising prices.
Winnebago Industries, for example, has been introducing “economical” trailers to attract customers amid “inconsistent retail patterns.” But its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. Shares of the maker of motorhomes and pontoons fell 2.7%.
In a show of how powerful AI can be, Accenture rose 6.6% even though the consulting and professional-services company reported weaker profit and revenue than expected. In its earnings report, it highlighted how it won over $900 million in new bookings for generative AI, bringing the total for its last three quarters to more than $2 billion.
Treasury yields ticked higher following a spate of mixed reports on the economy. The number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits eased last week, but not by as much as economists expected. A separate report said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic is growing, but not as quickly as economists thought. Home builders, meanwhile, broke ground on fewer new homes last month than expected.
The hope on Wall Street is actually for a slowdown in the U.S. economy’s growth. That could help keep a lid on inflationary pressures and convince the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate later this year. Such a cut would release pressure on the economy and boost investment prices.
Some other central banks have already begun removing the brakes from their economies.
The Swiss National Bank cuts its main rate on Thursday. The Bank of England, though, kept its main rate steady.
Stock indexes rose across much of Europe following the moves. Asian indexes were mixed.
