S&P 500, Dow hit another record high as Nvidia continues momentum

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average marked another record high close on Friday, capping off a week of gains across all three major Wall Street indices. The rally was largely fueled by the ongoing momentum in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, spearheaded by Nvidia.

Nvidia, often hailed as an AI poster child, continued its upward climb, rising 0.4 per cent and briefly surpassing $2 trillion in market valuation for the first time. The chipmaker's remarkable gains, particularly following its exceptional earnings report, contributed to Wall Street's largest ever daily gain of $277 billion in market value on Thursday.

Although Nvidia's advance on the final trading day of the week was more subdued, its influence remained paramount in driving market sentiment.

Anthony Saglimbene, Chief Market Strategist at Ameriprise, emphasized Nvidia's pivotal role in propelling the Nasdaq and S&P 500 higher. He noted that while investors had initially expressed concerns about potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, the performance of Nvidia and other major tech companies has effectively overshadowed these worries.

"The concentration is so intense right now on Big Tech, particularly on Nvidia, that it's looking past that," Saglimbene commented.

However, not all AI-related stocks experienced gains on Friday. Companies like Apple, Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Super Micro Computer faced slight declines as investors navigated the AI landscape. Super Micro Computer saw a notable drop of 11.8 per cent after pricing its convertible notes.

Despite these fluctuations, most S&P sectors ended the day in positive territory, with utilities, materials, and industrials among the top performers.

For the week, the S&P 500 climbed by 1.7 per cent, the Dow rose by 1.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq finished 1.4 per cent higher, reflecting the overall bullish sentiment in the market.

Among individual stock movers, Carvana surged 32.1 per cent after reporting its first-ever annual profit, while Warner Bros Discovery faced a 9.9 per cent decline after reporting a larger-than-expected quarterly loss. Block, led by Jack Dorsey, jumped 16.1 per cent after forecasting adjusted core earnings for the current quarter above Wall Street estimates.

Overall trading volume on US exchanges was slightly lower than the recent average, totaling 10.64 billion shares for the day.

(With Reuters inputs)