Wall Street experienced a robust rally on Thursday, driven by a risk-on sentiment fueled by strong economic data. The U.S. economy grew by 3% in the second quarter, exceeding earlier estimates of 2.8%. This upward revision was primarily attributed to robust growth in household consumption, indicating a strong consumer confidence in the economy.
Despite the upbeat market sentiment, NVIDIA Corp., the year’s top-performing S&P 500 stock, saw a dip of over 3% following its earnings report. The company’s revenue projections for the current quarter failed to meet heightened investor expectations, leading to a sell-off in its shares.
However, this downturn in NVIDIA’s stock price did not affect the overall semiconductor sector. Other chipmaker stocks experienced significant gains, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rising over 2%. Arm Holdings (ARM) led the charge, surging 5.6%, followed by Intel Corp. (INTC) with a 4.7% increase and ON Semiconductor Corp. (ON) gaining 4.3%.
Small caps, often considered a barometer of investor sentiment, also saw a positive reaction to the revised GDP data, rallying 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.1%, setting new record highs above 41,500 points.
The strength in the stock market extended to commodities. Natural gas rallied 2%, oil prices climbed 1.6%, gold advanced 0.8%, and silver rose 1.3%. Bitcoin also saw a positive surge, gaining 2.5%, aiming to end a three-day losing streak.
Here’s a breakdown of the performance of major U.S. indices and ETFs:
*
Russell 2000:
2,223.27 (1.4% increase)*
Nasdaq 100:
19,614.94 (1.4% increase)*
Dow Jones:
41,562.92 (1.1% increase)*
S&P 500:
5,645.35 (1.0% increase)Several other companies reported earnings on Thursday, leading to mixed reactions in their stock prices. American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) saw a decline of 3.3%, while Affirm Holdings (AFRM) surged 33%. Best Buy (BBY) climbed 15%, Burlington Stores (BURL) gained 0.7%, and Campbell Soup Company (CPB) fell 1.5%. Other notable movers included Cooper Companies (COO), CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD), Dollar General (DG), Five Below (FIVE), HP Inc. (HPQ), Nutanix (NTNX), NetApp (NTAP), Okta (OKTA), Pure Storage (PSTG), Salesforce (CRM), and Victoria’s Secret (VSCO).
Several companies are scheduled to report earnings after the closing bell, including Autodesk (ADSK), Dell Technologies (DELL), Gap (GAP), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Marvell Technology (MRVL), MongoDB (MDB), and Ulta Beauty (ULTA).
The overall bullish sentiment in the market suggests that investors are optimistic about the economic outlook, despite some concerns regarding the tech sector’s performance.
