US close: Stocks rise amid Nvidia-led tech rally

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Nvidia Corp.

$140.22

12:00 24/12/24

0.39%

$0.55

Wall Street saw a surge in stock performances on Thursday, buoyed by robust earnings reports from chipmaker Nvidia and positive data trends.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.18%, closing at 39,069.11 points, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.11% to reach 5,087.03 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.96% to 16,041.62 points.

In currency markets, the dollar held steady against the British pound and the euro, last showing no change at 78.99p and 92.4 euro cents, respectively.

However, it experienced a marginal decline against the yen, slipping 0.01% to change hands at JPY 150.52.

“Nvidia's 12% gains, and its Nasdaq 100 weighting, have pushed the index up ... as risk on sentiment is back on the cards,” said IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph earlier.

“The near-three month rise in the US Treasury yield to 4.35% and much weaker-than-expected initial jobless claims haven't dampened the mood.

“The dollar reversed its initial post-FOMC minutes weakness on Thursday afternoon, putting an end to gold's six straight days of gains.”

Jobless claims slow in latest data, private sector growth moderates

In economic news, the Labor Department reported Americans filed for state unemployment benefits at a slower pace in the week ended 17 February.

New claims dropped by 12,000 to 201,000, marking the lowest level in five weeks.

That figure came in significantly below market expectations of 218,000, and represented a notable decline from the 16-month low of 189,000 recorded five weeks earlier.

Continuing claims also decreased, by 27,000 to 1.86 million, surpassing expectations for a reading of 1.88 million.

The data suggested that unemployed people were finding employment more easily.

At the same time, the four-week moving average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,500 to 215,250.

Elsewhere, private-sector activity growth in the US moderated slightly in February, as per figures released by S&P Global.

The composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) declined to 51.4 this month, down from January's 52.0.

Despite the dip, it still marked the second-fastest growth rate since July last year.

The services PMI dropped to 51.3 from 52.5, missing economists' expectations but remaining in growth territory for the 13th consecutive month.

Conversely, the manufacturing PMI unexpectedly rose to a 17-month high of 51.5 from 50.7, surpassing the consensus forecast of 50.5.

That uptick was attributed to increased production and an improvement in supply chains following adverse weather conditions in January.

“Better weather conditions compared to January trumped shipping concerns, helping drive an overall improvement in supplier delivery times, which in turn facilitated higher factory production," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“Signs of inventory reduction policies becoming less widespread also helped boost production and sustain high levels of business confidence in the outlook for the year ahead among manufacturers.”

Finally on data, existing home sales in the US saw a 3.1% month-on-month increase in January, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales reached a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of four million units, the highest level in five months and slightly above expectations.

Listings saw a modest increase, while buyers capitalised on lower mortgage rates compared to late 2023.

Sales surged in the Midwest, South, and West regions and remained steady in the Northeast.

The median existing-home price for all housing types hit an all-time high of $379,100 for January.

Nvidia leads tech charge, Newmont and Rivian slide

In equity markets, Nvidia Corporation surged 16.4% after the AI chip and graphics processor giant released a stellar set of quarterly results after Wednesday's close.

Chip supply chain play Applied Materials rode Nvidia’s coattails with a rise of 4.94%, while Salesforce and ServiceNow - tech firms with their fingers in the AI pie - recorded gains of 3.62% and 2.81%, respectively.

Biotechnology company Moderna jumped 13.53% after it reported a surprise quarterly profit and sales that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.

On the downside, Newmont declined 7.6% after it announced plans to cut its dividend and divest non-core assets.

Electric carmaker Rivian Automotive tumbled 25.6% after reporting a larger-than-expected quarterly loss, and guiding for slightly lower production for this year compared to 2023.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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