Another High for S&P

The S&P 500 scored another record close on Thursday as traders pored over Nvidia’s earnings results and forecast. Investors largely looked at the numbers as affirming the AI boom. The Dow Jones Industrials regrouped 71.67 points to adjourn Thursday at 45,636.90. The broader index moved ahead 20.46 points to 6,501.86. The NASDAQ surged 115.02 points to 21,705.16. Nvidia – which makes up about 8% of the S&P 500– reported second-quarter results that beat Wall Street’s estimates with booming revenue growth of 56%. There were a couple initial concerns: first, revenue for its data center business was a hair under estimates. Second, the company guided overall revenue for this quarter of $54 billion, only slightly above expectations of $53.1 billion. Nvidia – which makes up about 8% of the S&P 500, per FactSet – reported second-quarter results that beat Wall Street’s estimates with booming revenue growth of 56%. There were a couple initial concerns: first, revenue for its data center business was a hair under estimates. Second, the company guided overall revenue for this quarter of $54 billion, only slightly above expectations of $53.1 billion of analysts polled by LSEG. Several semiconductor analysts became even more bullish about Nvidia, raising their price targets on the stock. JPMorgan, Citi and Bernstein were among the Wall Street firms that now see even greater upside for the chipmaker. Other chipmakers that initially fell began recovering. Broadcom traded 3% higher, as did Micron Technology, signaling that many investors believe Nvidia’s results gave the greenlight for the AI trade to continue. Meanwhile, shares of AI play Snowflake jumped around 21% after its second-quarter results surpassed expectations. Prices for 10-year Treasury gained ground Thursday, weighing yields to 4.20% from Wednesday’s 4.24%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices gained 19 cents to $64.34 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices gained $29.20 at $3,477.80 U.S. an ounce.