Stocks have moved mostly higher in morning trading on Thursday, regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the two previous sessions. Reflecting strength in the tech sector, the Nasdaq has shown a particularly strong upward move.
Currently, the Nasdaq is off its highs of the session but still up 181.11 points or 1.5 percent at 12,665.27. The S&P 500 is also up 28.28 points or 0.7 percent at 4,143.52, although the narrower Dow has bucked the uptrend and edged down 61.59 points or 0.2 percent to 32,738.33.
The rebound on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), with the chipmaker soaring by 25.3 percent to a record intraday high.
Nvidia is spiking after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and forecasting fiscal second quarter revenue well above analyst estimates.
The news has contributed to a rally by semiconductor stocks, resulting in a 5.0 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index has reached its best intraday level in over a year.
Industry giant Intel (INTC) is bucking the uptrend, however, tumbling by 6.3 percent and contributing to the modest drop by the Dow.
Software and computer hardware stocks are also seeing significant strength, driving both the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index and the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 2.4 percent.
On the other hand, energy stocks are seeing considerable weakness on the day amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
With crude for July delivery plunging $1.94 to $72.40 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 2.2 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index is down by 2.1 percent.
Tobacco, telecom and gold stocks have also shown notable moves to the downside, partly offsetting the strength in the tech sector.
Meanwhile, traders are keeping an eye on any developments in the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations amid lingering concerns about a potential default.
Reflecting the default concerns, Fitch Ratings along with Moody’s and S&P placed the United States “AAA” credit on “rating watch negative,” signaling downside risks to U.S. creditworthiness.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged by 1.9 percent and South Korea’s Kospi fell by 0.5 percent, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.4 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has slid by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed off their early lows but remain in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5 basis points at 3.769 percent.
Business News
Nasdaq Surges As Upbeat Nvidia Earnings Spark Tech Rally
2023-05-25 14:57:59
