Wall Street indexes end sharply higher on optimism about debt ceiling By Reuters

By Noel Randewich and Shristi Achar A

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks finished sharply higher on Friday as talks on raising the U.S. debt ceiling progressed, while chip stocks surged for a second straight day on optimism about artificial intelligence.

After several rounds of talks, U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy appeared to be nearing a deal to increase the government’s $31.4 trillion debt limit for two years, while capping spending on most items, a U.S. official told Reuters.

The ended a five-day losing streak, while the Index closed at its highest level since August 2022.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged for a second straight day. Building on recent euphoria related to AI, Marvell Technology Inc (O:) jumped after the chipmaker said it would double its annual revenue related to AI.

Investors were closely watching debt ceiling talks as Biden and McCarthy still seemed at odds over several issues heading into the long weekend, with the U.S. stock market closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.

“All the signs point to a deal getting done and this rally being sustained, but if we get through the weekend and we don’t have a deal or it falls apart in some way, then we’re going to wake up Tuesday morning to some pretty material losses,” said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:) Corp’s stock climbed, adding to its 24% gain on Thursday following its blowout forecast and elevating its stock market value to around $960 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Unofficially, the climbed 1.31% to end the session at 4,205.46 points.

The Nasdaq gained 2.19% to 12,975.69 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.00% to 33,093.27 points.

Data showed U.S. consumer spending increased more than expected in April and inflation picked up, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again next month.

“We still have inflation, we still have higher interest rates and that will continue to be an overhang for the market until the Federal Reserve goes on the sidelines,” said David Sadkin, president at Bel Air Investment Advisors.

Traders now see a 60% chance of a 25-basis-point hike by the Fed in its June policy meet, up from about 40% before the data, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Ford Motor (NYSE:) Co jumped after the automaker signed a deal allowing customers to access more than 12,000 Tesla (NASDAQ:) Inc Superchargers in North America in early 2024. Tesla jumped 6.7%.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:) Inc plummeted after the cosmetics retailer cut its annual operating margin forecast.

Paramount Global rallied after the media conglomerate’s controlling shareholder National Amusements received a $125 million investment.