AI Demand and Iran Peace Hopes Drive S&P 500 and Nasdaq to Record Highs
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have reached new record peaks, propelled by a surge in artificial intelligence adoption and reports of a breakthrough in U.S.-Iran peace negotiations. Strong earnings from the 'Magnificent 7' and companies like Snowflake and Marvell underscore a massive spending shift toward AI chips, cloud services, and software, while investors are increasingly expanding their AI bets into small-cap tech stocks. Despite the rally, market volatility persists. While U.S. indices climbed, European markets finished lower as investors weighed the conflict in Ukraine and the instability of the Iran war. Analysts warn that soaring gas prices and sinking consumer confidence continue to fuel inflation, leaving some traders skeptical about the longevity of the current oil market optimism.
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Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq lead another record-setting stock surge amid US-Iran deal hopes, software stocks rally
Meanwhile, tech earnings boosted confidence in the AI trade. Snowflake (SNOW), Marvell (MRVL), and HP (HP) reported strong earnings results after the bell on Wednesday that showcased AI driving spending on cloud, chips, and computers.
But again, the primary driver of ... largest tech companies. “In aggregate, earnings reported by the ‘Magnificent 7’ companies exceeded estimates by 32.5%, compared to 16.6% for all S&P 500 companies,” FactSet analyst John Butters wrote. The so-called Magnificent Seven are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. But the coast is not entirely clear for the markets. Snider warned that the outperformance of AI-linked stocks ...
Tech stocks today: Anthropic overtakes OpenAI as world's most valuable AI startup
UBS is arguing that AI demand is changing that setup by giving Micron more visibility into demand and a smoother earnings path. ... Qualcomm stock (QCOM) rose as much as 8% on Tuesday morning after Bloomberg News reported that the chipmaker struck a deal with ByteDance to supply the TikTok ...
Record U.S. equity inflows are moving beyond megacap firms into smaller companies that have flagged strong potential to benefit from the growing adoption of AI. Smaller technology companies can offer improving earnings prospects, relatively cheap valuations and a broad array of businesses ...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) today is down -0.07%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI ) (DIA ) is up +0.54%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) is down -0.44%. June E-mini S&P futures (ESM26 ) are down -0.07%, and June E-mini Nasdaq futures...
Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq lead another record-setting stock surge amid US-Iran deal hopes, software stocks rally
US stocks edged higher to hit new highs on Thursday amid a report that US and Iranian negotiators reached a breakthrough on a peace deal following a second wave of military strikes on Iran near the Strait of Hormuz. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed just above the flat line. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.6%, and the tech...
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