Stocks edged higher Thursday as investors reacted to Nvidia’s strong earnings and ongoing legal battles over tariffs from the Trump administration.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each rose 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. Earlier in the week, markets dipped slightly as investors awaited Nvidia’s quarterly results, a key indicator amid the AI boom.
Nvidia reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $44 billion, a 69% increase from last year. CEO Jensen Huang said demand for AI chips remains “incredibly strong” and expects growth to accelerate as AI becomes mainstream.
Nvidia’s shares climbed over 3%, briefly making it the world’s most valuable company again. Other tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Broadcom also saw gains, while Apple and Alphabet slipped slightly.
On the trade front, a federal court ruled that former President Trump exceeded his authority by using emergency powers to impose tariffs on major U.S. trading partners.
However, an appeals court temporarily paused this ruling, adding uncertainty to trade policies that have unsettled markets in recent months. Despite this, stocks have mostly recovered from earlier tariff-related declines.
HP Inc. shares fell over 8% after lowering full-year guidance due to trade costs. Best Buy also cut its outlook, with shares dropping around 7%. Boeing shares rose more than 3% after announcing aircraft deliveries to China will resume next month. Salesforce shares declined over 3% despite beating earnings expectations.
Bitcoin traded near $106,300, down from a morning high just below $109,000, after reaching a record $112,000 last week. The 10-year Treasury yield fell slightly to 4.43%, easing from recent highs amid concerns over the federal deficit. The U.S. dollar index declined 0.5% to 99.35.
Gold futures rebounded 0.6% to $3,315 per ounce, while U.S. crude oil prices slipped 1.5% to $60.90 per barrel.
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