Thursday's trading session concluded with gains across all three major indices, as robust earnings reports from leading technology firms such as NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA), CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD), and Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE: CRM) boosted market morale. NVIDIA saw its market capitalization swell by $442 billion on Thursday, marking the second-largest single-day increase for any company in history. This surge trails only the $450 billion record set by Microsoft less than a month prior.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 105.56 points, or 0.20%, closing at 53,569.44. The S&P 500 advanced 55.29 points, or 0.72%, to 7,730.99, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 411.15 points, or 1.57%, to 26,541.35. This marked the best day for the tech sector, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite since August 4th. In terms of individual movers, CrowdStrike gained 20.5%, Salesforce jumped 22.58%, SK hynix Inc (NASDAQ: SKHY) added 2%, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) rose 2.6%, NVIDIA climbed 8.7%, and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO) increased by 4%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index slipped 0.74%, with Baidu Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) up 4% and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) down 3%.
Across European markets, Germany's DAX added 50.54 points, or 0.19%, to 26,366.45. The UK's FTSE 100 fell 81.85 points, or 0.75%, to 10,796.27. France's CAC 40 dropped 142.52 points, or 1.68%, to 8,319.87. The Euro Stoxx 50 declined 44.99 points, or 0.70%, to 6,425.75. Spain's IBEX 35 shed 186.70 points, or 0.93%, to 19,880.60, and Italy's FTSE MIB decreased 596.99 points, or 1.13%, to 52,286.00.
In Asian equities, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.2%, while South Korea's KOSPI surged 1.53%. The US Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback against six major currencies, dipped 0.01% to settle at 99.159. At the close of New York currency trading, the euro was at $1.1649, slightly below the prior session's $1.1651. Sterling traded at $1.3589, down from $1.3592. The dollar strengthened to 159.43 Japanese yen from 159.40, but weakened against the Swiss franc to 0.8043 from 0.8055, against the Canadian dollar to 1.3858 from 1.3878, and against the Swedish krona to 9.5220 from 9.5329.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin was up 1.95% at $80,232, while Ethereum rose 0.62% to $2,509. For commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery increased $1.30 to settle at $83.53 per barrel, a gain of 1.58%. Brent crude for October delivery rose $1.86 to $89.70 per barrel, up 2.12%. In precious metals, spot gold was at $4,600.69, and spot silver stood at $69.32.
On the macroeconomic front, Boston Fed President Susan Collins indicated she might support a rate hike at the next meeting if incoming data shows inflation is not cooling as expected. She noted that if clear evidence of sustained improvement in inflation is absent, "soon" might be the appropriate time for further policy tightening. When asked if "soon" could mean the next one or two meetings, Collins acknowledged, "It's possible, yes." She considered the July inflation report to be broadly in line with her expectations, and while core inflation was slightly higher than anticipated, the data was "more encouraging" after stripping out certain hard-to-measure components. Collins still projects inflation will gradually ease even without a rate increase. She also revealed that her latest forecast, submitted in June, was for rates to remain unchanged through year-end, viewing the current level as "mildly restrictive" for the economy.
With midterm elections approaching, oil prices are under pressure, and President Trump is reportedly planning to meet with US oil refiners and fuel retailers next week to focus on measures to lower gasoline prices. The administration is seeking to alleviate consumer pressure stemming from the Iran conflict. Expected attendees include refiners like Valero Energy Corp (NYSE: VLO), Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE: MPC), and PBF Energy Inc (NYSE: PBF), alongside major fuel retailers. Republicans are attempting to maintain their slim congressional majorities in the November elections. The average US gasoline price remains above $4 per gallon, about $1 higher than a year ago. The Iran war has disrupted global energy markets and tightened supplies of gasoline and other refined products, contributing to strong second-quarter earnings for major oil companies and refiners. This has drawn criticism from Trump, who believes these companies should do more to lower costs for consumers and has publicly pressured them to reduce prices.
Reports indicate the Trump administration has declined to return to the agreement reached with Iran in June. Sources suggest the administration has repeatedly told mediators it has no intention of re-accepting the terms of that memorandum of understanding. Trump has shifted to using economic pressure on Iran and is willing to wait to see if that strategy works. The June agreement was designed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and initiate negotiations on nuclear issues and ending the war, in exchange for sanctions relief and access to frozen overseas assets, but it collapsed weeks later when Iran attacked ships. Iran insists the US must return to the agreement, arguing that Article 5 effectively recognizes its right to determine the conditions for opening the strait. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has stated it will only reopen the strait if the US restores the agreement, grants oil sales waivers, and ends its maritime blockade. Mediation efforts by Pakistan, Oman, and Qatar have made limited progress. Analysts suggest the June memorandum is effectively dead, and both sides are preparing for escalation.
US mortgage rates have risen for the first time in three weeks, with the 30-year fixed rate moving to 6.66%, according to Freddie Mac data. This is up slightly from 6.65% the previous week and higher than the 6.56% rate from a year ago. The housing market has been struggling, with rates briefly dipping below 6% before the Middle East conflict in late February but remaining above 6.5% since July. Thomas Ryan, senior economist at Capital Economics, noted that "high rates are still keeping the market in a stalemate," and if rates eventually fall to around 5%, pent-up demand could be significantly released, though it's unclear what might drive rates to that level in the near term. July new home sales fell to a six-month low, with contracts for new single-family homes dropping 10.5% to an annualized pace of 607,000, below the 620,000 expected.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman reiterated her stance on fighting inflation, stating that current interest rates are not restrictive enough to allow price pressures to dissipate on their own. She said, "I think it's appropriate to maintain some degree of restrictiveness now to help bring inflation back to target. The longer inflation remains above our goal, the harder it will be to bring it down." Bowman, who was one of three dissenters at last month's policy meeting, favored a 25-basis-point rate hike. She expressed concern that prolonged inflation deviation could lead the public to form an "inflationary mindset," though she hasn't seen that yet. She also noted that capital markets performance suggests rates are not putting sufficient pressure on credit or economic growth, citing trillion-dollar IPOs and record debt issuance as signs the economy is not constrained.
Canada's Finance Department has added US-made copper wire and charcoal to its 50% retaliatory tariff list, replacing previously removed fish and seafood products. The government of Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to cover approximately $20 billion in annual imports, matching the scale of US tariffs on Canadian goods. The US tariffs took effect last Saturday, while Canada's counter-tariffs will be implemented on September 8th. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc stated that removing US fish and seafood was a decision made after consulting with Canada's fishing industry. In addition to copper wire and charcoal, some US glass containers, printed pictures, and gypsum bricks have also been added to the 50% tariff list.
In individual stock news, media reports suggest that media mogul Rupert Murdoch's long-held desire to re-merge Fox Corp (NASDAQ: FOX) and News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) could potentially become a reality. Court documents and related footage indicate that discussions about a possible merger have resurfaced in recent weeks, following the unsealing of court files and a lawyer's testimony related to a family inheritance dispute that began in 2023. In 2022, Murdoch, then chairman of both companies, began showing interest in reuniting them less than a decade after they were split. He drafted a letter to the boards indicating that the family trust would not support any sale, merger, or similar transaction involving outside parties. When his daughter Elisabeth's representatives questioned the restructuring, Murdoch sent a text threatening, "If necessary, I will force it through." The merger failed due to investor opposition, but June court proceedings show Murdoch may try again. At a hearing on whether to publicize court testimony, Lachlan Murdoch's lawyer argued that any merger-related discussions should be kept confidential or redacted because "it could still happen in the future, opening a new chapter."
The CEO of SK hynix, Kwak Noh-jung, stated that the company is considering deepening its cooperation with Japanese flash memory maker Kioxia. He said they are exploring various ways to strengthen the partnership, but there are no "set plans" regarding its current indirect stake in Kioxia. SK hynix holds a significant indirect stake in Kioxia through a Bain Capital investment vehicle. Under a previous agreement, its voting rights cannot exceed 15% until 2028 without Kioxia's consent. When asked about potential further investment expansion in the US, Kwak declined to provide specifics. He also revealed that SK hynix is still evaluating a potential IPO for its US NAND subsidiary, Solidigm. South Korean media had reported that Solidigm was seeking pre-IPO funding of 5 trillion to 10 trillion won, but SK hynix has not made any decisions on this matter.
According to reports, NVIDIA has paused some agreements under its AI cloud revenue-sharing program, less than two months after announcing the initiative in July. The program, called the "AI Compute Partner Program," was designed to provide guaranteed revenue to cloud service providers by committing to rent their GPU compute capacity if they couldn't find other customers. NVIDIA disclosed this week that these agreements, typically six years in duration, involve $36 billion in commitments. Under the proposed terms, NVIDIA would receive 50% of revenue above a base threshold covering chip depreciation, data center, and personnel costs. Some employees have expressed concerns about potential antitrust scrutiny, particularly regarding how much control the company can exert over customer operations. NVIDIA may adjust the program or fold it into other initiatives in the future.
In analyst actions, UBS Group has raised its price target for NVIDIA from $280 to $300.
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