Stock market today: Stocks fall as Nvidia falls from record high

U.S. stock indexes flirted with record highs Thursday after the S&P 500 (^GSPC) briefly crossed 5,500 for the first time as Nvidia (NVDA) continued its record advance that catapulted it to the title of the world’s largest public company. valued in the world.

The S&P 500 remained near the flat line after the index hit its 31st closing high of the year on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) hit new highs earlier in the session before falling 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose about 0.3%.

After Wednesday’s holiday, Wall Street appeared poised to continue its winning path in 2024. Stock growth this year has largely been driven by enthusiasm over the potential of AI, and no company has attracted attention. collective attention like Nvidia. Its stock rose as much as 3% before paring its gains. Shares are still up more than 170% so far this year.

On Tuesday, Nvidia made a remarkably rapid move to usurp Microsoft (MSFT) as the world’s most valuable company – just two weeks after dethroning Apple (AAPL) as the second most valuable company. His rise to the top has been so rapid, Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre wrote, that some more passive investors haven’t been able to keep up.

Elsewhere on Thursday, global central banks were the center of attention as the Swiss National Bank cut rates for the second time this year. The Bank of England kept its key rate at its highest level in 16 years, but there were signs pointing to a rate cut this summer.

In the United States, meanwhile, most traders continue to bet on a Fed taper by September, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The most important economic data came in the form of weekly jobless claims, which showed a decline of 5,000 to 238,000 last week, compared to a consensus expectation of 235,000.

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Thu June 20, 2024 at 12:32 p.m. EDT

Dell and Super Micro stocks are on the move after Musk says the companies will provide hardware for xAI

Shares of Dell (DELL) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) jumped Thursday after xAI founder Elon Musk said the companies are supplying hardware for the supercomputer his AI startup is building .

As Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban reports, these increases underscore Wall Street’s enthusiasm for AI technology.

Investors are clamoring to invest in AI companies at all levels of development, from major consumer brands selling AI-based applications to manufacturers providing the chips and servers powering the Informatique infrastructure.

Dell shares rose as much as 5% on Thursday, while Super Micro shares climbed nearly 9% before paring gains.

Dell CEO Michael Dell caused his company’s stock price to jump when he said in a post on Wednesday X, “We’re building a Dell AI factory with Nvidia to power Grok for xAI.”
Thu, June 20, 2024 at 11:47 a.m. EDT

Energy stocks lead gains

Energy-related stocks led Thursday’s gains, with the S&P 500 Energy Select ETF (XLE) up more than 1%, helping to propel the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to new highs.

Oil giants ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) each rose more than 1.5%. The energy sector has gained more than 7% this year, compared with 15% year-to-date for the broader benchmark.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 index rose 0.5%, briefly breaching the 5,500 level for the first time.
Thu, June 20, 2024 at 10:51 a.m. EDT

Thursday trending tickers

The top trending tickers on Yahoo Finance on Thursday were all technology-related.

NVIDIA (NVDA)

Shares of the chip giant rose 3% Thursday morning, hitting new highs. Earlier this week, Nvidia surpassed Microsoft (MSFT) as the world’s most valuable company.

Dell Technologies (DELL)

Dell stock rose after CEO Michael Dell revealed that the hardware giant was working with Nvidia to build an AI factory for xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company.

“We’re building a Dell AI factory with @nvidia to power @grok for @xai @elonmusk,” Dell wrote on X on Wednesday.

Super microcomputer (SMCI)

SMCI jumped more than 8% after billionaire Elon Musk said his artificial intelligence startup xAI would use server racks from Dell and Super Micro Computer.

Since the beginning of the year, the stock is up more than 240%.
Thu June 20, 2024 at 10:06 a.m. EDT

S&P 500 crosses 5,500 mark for first time, Nasdaq also hits new highs

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) crossed the 5,500 level for the first time on Thursday as Nvidia (NVDA) stock continued its steady rise.

The broader index rose 0.5% after recording its 31st record close of the year on Tuesday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.3% to also hit record highs during Thursday’s session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%.
Thu June 20, 2024 at 9:50 a.m. EDT

Housing starts reach 4-year low as construction “continues to weaken”

New government data released on Thursday shows residential housing construction activity fell to its lowest level in four years.

Housing starts fell 5.5% in May from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.277 million. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected 1.370 million housing starts.

“The decline in housing starts in May is consistent with the recent slowdown in permitting, indicating that construction continues to weaken this year,” wrote Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics, after publication.

“This calls into question our forecast that construction, particularly in the single-family sector, would be thriving this year given the lack of alternatives for buyers in the resale market. »

Separate data released Wednesday showed homebuilders are losing confidence in the housing market. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) fell to a five-month low of 43 in June. Builders pointed to 7% mortgage rates as the cause, pushing many potential buyers to the sidelines.
Thu, June 20, 2024 at 9:32 a.m. EDT

S&P 500 hits new high as Nvidia continues to climb

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 opened higher on Thursday as shares of Nvidia (NVDA) continued to climb.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained about 0.4% to hit a new record high after notching its 31st record close of the year on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell just below the flat line.

Nvidia became the world’s most valuable public company on Tuesday. Its rise after the June 19 holiday continued Thursday morning as shares rose more than 2%.