US stock markets saw a significant lift from technology shares on Thursday, primarily driven by robust earnings reports and optimistic outlooks from Nvidia and Salesforce. The S&P 500 closed 0.72% higher at 7,730.99, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.57% to reach 26,541.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.20% to 53,569.44. The S&P 500 Information Technology sector was the top performer, increasing by 3.4%, as other sectors largely declined.
Nvidia's strong earnings beat and forecast for approximately 70% revenue growth in its upcoming fiscal year fueled an almost 9% surge in its shares, adding $442 billion to its market value. Salesforce also saw a remarkable 22.6% increase after raising its annual revenue and profit forecasts and integrating Anthropic's Claude AI models. Other software firms like ServiceNow and Palo Alto Networks also experienced gains. Conversely, Moderna dropped 4.6% after announcing a $2 billion convertible bond sale, and HP fell nearly 3% due to declining PC unit shipments and margins.
Investor attention is now squarely focused on Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's keynote speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, August 28. Market participants are keen for hints on the central bank's stance on inflation and future interest rate policy. Treasury yields saw minor increases, with the 10-year Treasury yield advancing two basis points to 4.67% and the 2-year note yield rising 1.21 basis points to 4.236%, reflecting expectations for the Fed's monetary policy. The dollar remained largely unchanged as jobless claims data showed a continued low level of layoffs, reinforcing the focus on Warsh's upcoming remarks.
