US markets end sharply higher on Thursday

23 Feb 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended sharply higher on Thursday with Nasdaq settling around three percent higher. The rally on markets largely reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), with the chipmaker spiking by 16.4 percent to a record closing high. Nvidia soared after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results amid strong demand for its chips to power artificial intelligence. The company also provided upbeat revenue guidance. Shares of Nvidia have skyrocketed this year amid optimism about demand for its AI chips, and traders had been questioning whether its results would support further upside. On the sectoral front, semiconductor stocks skyrocketed on the heels of the upbeat Nvidia earnings, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index soaring by 5.0 percent to a record closing high.

Substantial strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 4.8 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Software and networking stocks also saw considerable strength, contributing to the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. On the economic data front, a report released by the Labor Department showed an unexpected dip in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 17th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 201,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 213,000. Street had expected jobless claims to rise to 218,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 456.87 points or 1.18 percent to 39,069.11, Nasdaq surged 460.75 points or 2.96 percent to 16,041.62 and S&P 500 was up by 105.23 points or 2.11 percent to 5,087.03. 


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