The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite jumped on Thursday as investors cheered the latest quarterly results from Nvidia. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell after Fitch Ratings put the US’s AAA rating on negative.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% and Nasdaq fell 1.5%. The Dow traded 106 points lower, or 0.3%.
Nvidia shares rose 25% after artificial intelligence receiver provided stronger than expected revenue guidance for the second fiscal year, while it reported top- and bottom-line paces in the previous quarter. Several analysts covering the stock raised their price targets on the stock following the results.
Other semiconductor stocks followed Nvidia higher, including AMD and Taiwan Semiconductor, which rose around 9% each. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) increased by 6.7%.
“The macro bottom line is that innovation in technology can offset headwinds from a slowing economy, or higher interest rates,” said Dylan Kremer, co-chief investment officer at Certuity. “Tech and growth stocks in particular are not dead.”
Nvidia shares 1-day
At the same time, Fitch Ratings set the US’s AAA long-term foreign currency issuer default rating on a negative watch. The rating agency said it is ongoing debt ceiling negotiations have increased the risks that the government may miss payments on some of its commitments. However, Fitch said it still expects a resolution before the X date.
“I think everyone is looking at the Nvidia story and running with it because it’s a welcome break from talk of the debt ceiling, bank scares and inflation along with Fed tightening,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.
Debt ceiling negotiations continued to weigh on the major averages. The talks hit a roadblock earlier on Wednesday. On Thursday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy indicated there were negotiations make progressbut that major headwinds remained to strengthen a deal.
A revision from the Commerce Department on Thursday showed stronger economic growth than previously thought. U.S. gross domestic product rose 1.3% at an annualized rate from January to March, up 0.2 percentage points from previous estimates. Pending April home sales data is also on deck after the open. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a 0.8% gain, up from the previous month’s 5.2% decline.
— CNBC’s Christina Wilkie contributed to this story.
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