PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Thursday, driven in part by strong Nvidia forecasts fueling optimism in the tech sector, as investors continue to digest the unsurprising minutes of the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 142.48 points, or 0.43%, to 33,187.57 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.77% to 4,021.95 points.
The Nasdaq Composite took 1.07%, or 123.60 points, to 11,630.67.
US semiconductor maker Nvidia soared 12.29% after Wednesday released a revenue forecast for the current quarter above Wall Street expectations. The group also reported a surge in demand for chips for AI-enabled services, including chatbots.
In the wake of Nvidia, Broadcom, Qualcomm, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices gained 1.36% to 6.21%, while the semiconductor index and the broader new technologies index rose 3.59% respectively. and 1.83%.
On the downside, eBay fell 5.19% as the online auction specialist said it expected lower demand in the current half amid pressure on consumer spending. Moderna dropped 2.02% on lower-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine this year.
On the macroeconomic level, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States increased by 2.7% at an annualized rate compared to the previous three months, a rate lower than the first estimate which was 2.9%.
The weekly jobless claims, they fell to 192,000 last week against 200,000 expected by the Reuters consensus. This statistic, which testifies to a labor market that is still tight, does not seem to be frightening for the moment for investors who continue to welcome the minutes of the last Fed meeting published on Wednesday. These ‘minutes’ show that ‘almost all’ US central bank officials agreed to slow the pace of interest rate hikes to a quarter point, when a 50 point hike could have won more support .
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(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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