A late-afternoon slide by some Big Tech companies cut into Wall Street's gains Thursday, leading to a mixed finish for US stock indexes.
- The Dow rose 243.63 points, or 0.6%, to 41,335.05.
- The S&P 500 fell 0.22 points, or less than 0.1%, to 5,591.96.
- The Nasdaq fell 39.60 points, or 0.2%, to 17,516.43.
Despite the mixed finish, gainers outnumbered decliners by roughly 2-1 on the New York Stock Exchange, the AP reports. Nvidia, which has ridden the frenzy over artificial intelligence to become one of the S&P 500's most influential companies, was the biggest weight on the market. Its shares fell 6.4% despite stellar results for the second quarter. The stock, with a total market value topping $3 trillion, is still up 138% in 2024. Nvidia's earnings beat and forecast may not have been a big enough surprise for some traders, but surging demand for its artificial intelligence chips show that "it is powering the AI revolution," said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives in a note to investors.
The market rallied earlier as encouraging data helped shift traders' focus back on the US economy. The Commerce Department upgraded its assessment of economic growth for the second quarter to 3%, compared to a previous estimate of 2.8%. It's another signal that the economy remains strong, despite pressure from inflation and high interest rates. Traders also had their eye on more corporate earnings. CrowdStrike Holdings rose 2.8% after the cybersecurity company beat analysts' second-quarter financial forecasts. Dollar General slumped 32.1% after cutting its earnings forecast. Best Buy jumped 14.1% after the nation's largest consumer electronics chain beat Wall Street forecasts, even as sales slipped and it cut guidance for the year. The mostly solid earnings and economic growth updates are capping off a month of encouraging reports for the broader economy.
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