Nasdaq, S&P 500 pop as Nvidia galvanizes stocks

May 23, 2024

3 minutes read

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose to fresh records in early trading on Thursday after Nvidia’s (NVDA) blockbuster earnings lit a fire under optimism that the AI rally has more room to run.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.8%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.6% before paring gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which includes fewer tech stocks, dipped 0.3%.

Nvidia shares popped more than 8% to top $1,000 for the first time after the AI bellwether blew past Wall Street’s sky-high forecasts for first quarter earnings. The chip giant also raised its guidance, easing fears that AI demand might be losing steam.

Other chipmakers and AI-related stocks rode higher on the coattails of the results, with server makers Dell (DELL) and Super Micro Computer (SCMI) up about 6% and 5%, respectively.

The Nvidia euphoria helped the market set aside the interest rate hike concerns that fed the previous day’s losses. Stocks had slipped after Federal Reserve minutes revealed some policymakers are open to keeping rates higher for longer this year if inflation doesn’t cool as projected.

The S&P Global purchasing managers index (PMI) for May came in at 54.4 versus 51.3 last month. The flash reading, which came in higher than what economists had expected, showed business activity accelerated at the fastest pace in two years, despite the Fed’s efforts to quell price pressures.

Elsewhere, AI hopes gave corporates a boost. Cloud-based analytics company Snowflake’s (SNOW) shares added 4% on the heels of an upbeat sales outlook. Meanwhile, News Corp. (NWS) got a bump up after the media giant signed a deal with Microsoft-backed OpenAI that should give ChatGPT access to content from The Wall Street Journal and other titles.

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The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both rose to touch fresh intraday highs earlier in the session on the heels of Nvidia’s (NVDA) blowout quarter.

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Nasdaq, S&P 500 touch new intraday record after Nvidia’s blowout quarter

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 surged to hit new intraday records Thursday following Nvidia’s (NVDA) blowout quarter. Shares of the AI chip maker soared more than 7% at the open, trading above $1,000 each for the first time.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped about 1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.6%.. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), rose slightly.

Technology and Communications Services stocks led the gains, lifted by Nvidia’s first quarter results. The AI chip giant blew past Wall Street expectations. The company also raised its guidance, quelling concerns that demand would slow as it transitions to its next-generation chips this year.

In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said, “People want to deploy these data centers right now. They want to put our [graphics processing units] to work right now and start making money and start saving money. And so that demand is just so strong.”
Thu, May 23, 2024 at 10:44 AM GMT+1

Nvidia CEO makes a key point to Yahoo Finance

Nvidia (NVDA) shares are up about 7% pre-market after another big quarter AND another big earnings call.

But the insight into the most important company in the world didn’t stop there.

Yahoo Finance’s Julie Hyman and Dan Howley sat down exclusively with Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang following the earnings call.

Huang moved quickly to quiet any concern about a demand slowdown for the powerful chips that are leading the generative AI movement:

“People want to deploy these data centers right now. They want to put our [graphics processing units] to work right now and start making money and start saving money. And so that demand is just so strong,” Huang said.

The pushback on any demand slowdown by Huang was also spotted by Wall Street, whih is out this morning leaving buy ratings intact and pushing estimates higher.

Yahoo Finance’s full chat with Huang below. More context from Julie and Dan here.