The floor of the New York Stock Exchange (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/SPENCER PLATT)
The New York Stock Exchange got off to a flying start on Thursday, with the technology sector riding the euphoria that gripped the markets after the brilliant results of electronic chip giant Nvidia.
the Nasdaq index, with a strong technological coloring, climbed by 2.31%% while the stock of Nvidia, the fifth largest capitalization on the market, soared by more than 12%. The broader S&P 500 index gained 1.52% and the Dow Jones +0.68% around 3:15 p.m. GMT.
These two indices, already close to their highs, promised to break new records at this rate.
Nvidia, a giant in electronic chips, notably used for artificial intelligence (AI), announced staggering results after the close on Wednesday, which blew away market expectations.
Driven by the craze for generative AI and the interest in these electronic components, the group tripled its turnover in the fourth quarter to $22 billion. Profits are nine times higher than those of a year ago, at 12.3 billion.
“However, the bar was high” for earnings forecasts “in a context of enthusiasm for AI,” noted Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
“The company has shown that it still has something under the hood,” he added.
Nvidia, which is already in 5th place among the largest capitalizations on the New York Stock Exchange, could at the end of the session, climb to fourth or even third place of the “Magnificent 7”, surpassing Amazon and Alphabet, if the The action continues this rhythm.
The group further described the emergence, with generative artificial intelligence, of a “new era of computing” which will introduce itself to all sectors and lead to a vast updating of workstations and data centers .
Something to make investors dream. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei broke its historic record, which was more than thirty years old.
On the macro-economic side, applications for unemployment benefits in the United States fell, against all expectations, by 12,000 to 201,000 last week.
Home resales performed well in January, increasing by 3.1% over the month but down 1.7% over the year.
Although property loan rates fell in January, they started to rise again this month and have just returned above the 7% mark for a 30-year fixed rate loan.
On the monetary policy front, several members of the Federal Reserve were scheduled to deliver speeches, including two after the market closed.
The publication on Wednesday of the minutes of the last meeting of the Fed, where the members of the Monetary Committee appeared mostly in no hurry to lower rates, ended up dashing the last hopes of an easing of credit from the next meeting on March 20.
“Only 4% now think that a rate cut is possible in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool,” underlined Art Hogan.
On the bond market, ten-year yields were almost stable at 4.30% compared to 4.31%.
Elsewhere on the stock market, the AT&T telecoms group fell 2.41% as its cell phone network experienced disruptions.
“Some of our customers are experiencing interruptions in mobile phone service this morning. We are working urgently to restore service,” a spokesperson for the group said.
Electric vehicle manufacturers Rivian and Lucid collapsed by 24% and 12% respectively after disappointing results.
Shares of online furniture seller Wayfair climbed 8.26%. The site announced a lower-than-expected quarterly loss on increased sales.
Vaccine manufacturer Moderna soared 8%, to $94, after a surprise quarterly profit, even though its sales of the Covid vaccine fell.
Its competitor Novavax was highly sought after (+22%) at $4.87 after an agreement in the dispute between it and the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi). Novavax will pay $475 million in installments to the organization which pilots the Covax program intended to provide vaccines to disadvantaged countries.
© 2024 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends using the buttons below.
