© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 9, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid//File Photo
By Amruta Khandekar and Bansari Mayur Kamdar
(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes extended gains on Friday and Nvidia (NASDAQ:) leapt above $2 trillion in market valuation for the first time on the AI frenzy that has gripped the market since the chip maker’s blockbuster quarterly report.
The and surged to record closing highs on Thursday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was a whisker away from its all-time high, as investors piled into technology stocks after Nvidia’s forecasts boosted confidence in the AI sector.
Nvidia added $277 billion in stock market value in the previous session, Wall Street’s largest one-day gain in history as shares rallied.
Its shares were up 4.0% on Friday, while nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors advanced in early trading with technology stocks leading the gains.
“Investors are increasingly throwing caution to the wind and chasing this astonishing tech rally, confident that the artificial intelligence boom will shield corporate profits even if the economy turns,” said Marios Hadjikyriacos, senior investment analyst at XM.
At 09:43 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 111.21 points, or 0.28%, at 39,180.32, the S&P 500 was up 19.91 points, or 0.39%, at 5,106.94, and the was up 62.50 points, or 0.39%, at 16,104.12.
All the three major indexes were set for weekly gains after turbulence in the prior week when hotter-than-expected inflation data dampened expectations of early interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Traders firmed up bets against any U.S. interest-rate cuts before June after Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Thursday said he was in “no rush” to lower rates.
Among other stocks, Carvana surged 38.6% on reporting its first-ever annual profit, helped by its pact with bondholders to cut its outstanding debt by $1 billion.
Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:) shed 12.3% on reporting a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss as the media conglomerate battled the fallout of the twin Hollywood strikes on content generation.
Jack Dorsey-led Block jumped 19.3% after the payments firm forecast adjusted core earnings for the current quarter above Wall Street estimates, betting on consumer resilience.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.13-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 67 new 52-week highs and 1 new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 62 new highs and 66 new lows.
This story originally appeared on Investing
