On Thursday, major US stock indexes saw gains, primarily propelled by the technology sector after Nvidia's robust revenue forecast reaffirmed the strength of the AI boom. The Nasdaq Composite surged 1.57% to 26,541.35, the S&P 500 rose 0.72% to 7,730.99, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.20% to 53,569.44. Nvidia's shares jumped 8.7% after the chip company's forecast for roughly 70% revenue growth for its upcoming fiscal year (ending January 2028) exceeded expectations, bolstering investor confidence in the tech rally and AI sector. The S&P 500 Information Technology sector was the sole gainer among the benchmark's 11 major sectors, rising 3.4%, as other sectors generally declined.
Beyond Nvidia, other tech companies also saw significant increases. Salesforce surged 22.6% after raising its annual revenue and profit forecasts and integrating Anthropic's Claude AI models. CrowdStrike climbed 20.5% after the cybersecurity software provider also raised its annual revenue forecast and surpassed second-quarter earnings estimates. These performances helped alleviate concerns that advanced AI tools might disrupt the traditional software industry, boosting investor appetite for software stocks and narrowing the gap with semiconductor firms. In contrast, Moderna dropped 4.6% after announcing a $2 billion convertible bond sale, and HP fell almost 3% due to declining PC unit shipments and margins.
In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes rose 1.22 basis points to 4.676%, while the 2-year note yield, sensitive to interest rate expectations, increased by 1.21 basis points to 4.236%. The dollar remained largely unchanged. Investor attention is now shifting to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's keynote speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. Investors will be seeking subtle clues about the central bank's stance on inflation and interest rate policy, although Warsh is not expected to directly signal future Fed moves.
