US stock markets achieved significant milestones on Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting another record high and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reclaiming the 50,000 level once again. As of the latest trading session, the Nasdaq-100 increased by 1%, the S&P 500 rose 1%, and the Dow gained 0.94% in a rounding error away from 1%. The session began unevenly with the Nasdaq-100 opening flat, the S&P 500 starting up 0.3%, and the Dow opening with a 0.8% gain, but all three indexes converged around 0.5% by 10:30 a.m. ET and climbed steadily from there. The positive momentum came amid the ongoing Trump-Xi Jinping summit in China and strong earnings from major technology companies.
Nvidia shares surged 4.3% to $235.63, adding $248 billion to its market cap as the company's AI chip stocks continued their dominant performance. According to latest reports, Nvidia has gained more than 26% year to date, with the company's stock hitting new highs as CEO Jensen Huang followed President Trump on a state visit to China. U.S. regulators just approved Nvidia's request to sell H200 AI accelerators in the Chinese market, providing significant catalyst for the AI chip leader. The latest surge in the S&P 500 topping 7,500 for the first time was particularly driven by AI optimism, which has been a key factor supporting technology stocks across the board, with the market's message remaining clear that it really, really likes artificial intelligence.
Cisco Systems shares jumped 17% following the company's third quarter guidance that beat Wall Street expectations, though the networking giant's $456 billion market cap isn't heavy enough to move the S&P 500 or Nasdaq-100 needles by much. As reported by Forbes, the company also announced its intention to eliminate approximately 4,000 jobs as part of its restructuring efforts. The strong performance of Cisco helped drive the broader technology sector higher, with chipmaker Nvidia Corp. continuing its winning streak for the seventh consecutive day. The latest surge in the S&P 500 topping 7,500 for the first time was particularly driven by AI optimism, which has been a key factor supporting technology stocks across the board.
Retail sales data provided additional support to market sentiment, advancing for the third straight month in April with the value of retail purchases increasing 0.5% after a revised 1.6% gain in March. According to NDTV Profit, this positive economic data helped reinforce investor confidence in the market's underlying strength. The sustained retail sales growth demonstrates continued consumer spending momentum despite recent market volatility, with the latest milestone of the S&P 500 topping 7,500 for the first time providing further validation of this economic resilience. Initial jobless claims came in at 211,000, slightly above estimates of 205,000, suggesting the labor market may be showing early signs of softening despite continued consumer spending resilience.
The Trump-Xi summit has created particular volatility for companies with significant exposure to China, including Boeing Co., Nvidia Corp., Tesla Inc., Qualcomm Inc. and Apple Inc.. As reported by NDTV Profit, Boeing saw significant intraday movement, rising nearly 1% at open before slumping 3.4% to $232.45 within 30 minutes of trading. Other major technology companies including Tesla, Qualcomm, and Apple also traded lower during the morning session as of 10:15 a.m. EST. The latest developments show continued sensitivity to trade discussions, with the summit's impact on China-exposed stocks remaining a key factor in market movements, though the Strait of Hormuz conflict's massive impact on oil prices barely showed up in Thursday's headlines despite its potential to change market dynamics in coming days or weeks.
