Written by David French
(Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose on Thursday as investors rushed into growth and tech stocks on strong results and prospects from artificial intelligence leader Nvidia. The highest closing price was recorded.
It was also the largest single-day gain for the S&P 500 benchmark in 13 months. The Nasdaq Composite posted its biggest single-session gain in a year, but missed out on a record finish.
Investors were eager to buy shares after Nvidia’s chip designer predicted first-quarter revenue would soar nearly threefold due to strong demand for AI chips, beating fourth-quarter revenue forecasts. , Nvidia stock rose 16.4%.
The company’s results were a major test for Wall Street’s AI-driven stock rally that pushed the S&P 500 above the 5,000-point mark for the first time earlier this month. Some analysts had warned that disappointing results could cause tech stocks to plummet.
Instead, the S&P 500 rose 105.23 points, or 2.11%, to close at a record high of 5,087.03, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 456.87 points, or 1.18%, to close at 39,069.11. This is the first time that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has closed above 39,000 points.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 460.75 points (2.96%) to 16,041.62.
“As Nvidia goes, so goes the world,” joked Jack Janasiewicz, lead portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions.
He noted how Nvidia’s revenue performance has exceeded the market’s high expectations, and expressed skepticism that there is much headroom left in the AI industry after the recent rally.
Janasewicz added: “I don’t know when I’ll sell it, I might never sell it. Maybe there’s still space and I’ll be happy to sit down and sell it.”
Nvidia increased its market capitalization by $277 billion, outpacing Metaplatform’s $196 billion surge earlier this month, making it the largest single-day gain in Wall Street history.
Companies that shorted Nvidia stock were left with more than $2.9 billion in paper losses, according to data from Ihor Dusaniowski, managing director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners.
The benchmark index will end this year above the 5,000 mark, according to strategists polled by Reuters.
All but one of the S&P 500’s 11 major sectors rose, with tech stocks leading the way with a 4.4% gain. The outlier was utilities, which fell 0.8%.
The S&P 500 Growth Index rose 3.3%, its biggest single-day increase since November 2022.
Stocks of other companies seen as beneficiaries of the AI push were also hurt. Nvidia rivals Advanced Micro Devices, server parts supplier Super Micro Computer and Arm Holdings rose 4.2%-32.9%.
Synopsys soared 6.9% to a record close after the maker of software for chip designers reported better-than-expected earnings and guidance.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also had a record close, rising 5% for its biggest one-day gain since October.
Big Tech stocks and growth stocks such as Alphabet, Microsoft and Metaplatform rose 1.1% to 3.9%.
Elsewhere, vaccine maker Moderna soared 13.5% after surprising investors with fourth-quarter profits. The technical outlook for the stock is also bullish.
However, Rivian and Lucid fell 25.6% and 16.8%, respectively, after the electric vehicle startup lowered its 2024 production forecast significantly below analyst expectations due to slowing demand.
Trading volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.93 billion shares, compared with an average of 11.64 billion shares over the past 20 trading days.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Bhansali Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru and David French in New York; Editing by Shonak Dasgupta, Shinjini Ganguly and David Gregorio)
