Two of the major stock indexes fell on Thursday after hitting record highs earlier in the session. Nvidia’s ( NVDA ) record rise — which catapulted it to the title of the world’s most valuable public company — also took a breather.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost about 0.2% after briefly passing 5,500 for the first time, as the index failed to rally to its 31st record close of the year. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) touched new highs early in the session, but closed sharply lower, almost 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose roughly 0.7%, or about 300 points.
After Wednesday’s break, Wall Street looked to continue its winning ways into 2024. The stock rally story this year has been largely driven by excitement about the potential of AI, and no company has captured the collective attention like Nvidia. For a while, it looked like the AI ​​party would continue.
But shares of the chip giant fell more than 3% on Thursday. Despite the decline, the stock is still up more than 170% so far this year.
On Tuesday, Nvidia completed an unusually rapid rise to temporarily usurp Microsoft ( MSFT ) as the world’s most valuable company — just two weeks after dethroning Apple ( AAPL ) as the no. 2 most valuable companies. Its rise to the top has come so quickly, 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 in focus as the Swiss National Bank cut rates for the second time this year. The Bank of England kept its key rate at a 16-year high, but signals pointed to a rate cut in the summer.
In the US, meanwhile, most traders continue to bet on a Fed rate cut by September, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The bulk of the economic data came in the form of weekly jobless claims, which showed a drop of 5,000 to 238,000 last week versus a consensus expectation of 235,000.
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S&P 500 slips from record after briefly touching 5,500, Nasdaq also falls as Nvidia falls
Stocks ended Thursday’s trading session mixed with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) just off their record highs.
The Nasdaq fell about 0.8% while the S&P 500 fell 0.2% after briefly crossing the 5,500 level earlier in the session.
Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) reversed its early-day gains to lose more than 3% as tech stocks fell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.8%.
Chip stocks lead declines in Nasdaq, S&P 500
Chip stocks were among the laggards Thursday, dragging the Nasdaq (^IXIC) and S&P 500 (^GSPC).
Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell more than 3%, while Broadcom ( AVGO ) also fell. Qualcomm ( QCOM ) and Micron ( MU ) also fell.
Nvidia erased earlier session gains as the stock, along with other technology-related names, weighed on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 briefly touched the 5,500 level this morning before falling in afternoon trading.
Semiconductor stocks fall on June 20, 2024.
Oil prices rise, help lift energy-related stocks
On Thursday, West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) rose slightly to settle at $82.17 a barrel, while Brent (BZ=F), the international benchmark, rose to $85.71 a barrel.
WTI is on pace for a second weekly gain after a selloff in May. U.S. crude oil futures are up roughly 14% year-to-date, while Brent has gained 12% over the same period.
Higher oil prices lifted energy-related stocks on Thursday, with the S&P 500 Energy Select ETF ( XLE ) rising more than 2%.
Amazon is already disrupting the broadcast advertising market – here’s how
Yahoo Finance’s Allie Canal reports:
Amazon ( AMZN ) entered the ad-supported streaming space in January by defaulting all of its Prime Video subscriptions to ads. Just six months later, the tech giant’s impact is already being felt.
Prime Video subscriptions now automatically default to the ad-supported tier with current monthly rates of $14.99 for Prime delivery members and $8.99 for non-Prime members — or those subscribing only to the standalone video service . Subscribers who want the ad-free version will now see their monthly bill increase by $3 per month.
Amazon’s entry builds on the presence of Netflix ( NFLX ) and Disney ( DIS ), which introduced their respective tiers of advertising in late 2022. That means an already accelerating expansion of ad-supported options for consumers — along with potential ad buyers.
Read more here.
Nvidia wipes session gains, falls 4%
Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) erased morning session gains to fall more than 4% on Thursday. The chip giant opened higher before falling into red territory and dragging down the Nasdaq and S&P 500.
Nvidia passed Microsoft ( MSFT ) on Tuesday as the world’s most valuable company. However, on Thursday afternoon, the software giant reclaimed the crown as its valuation fell just above Nvidia’s market cap.
Stocks turn negative as the S&P 500 briefly crosses the 5,500 level
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell into red territory Thursday, reversing earlier morning gains.
Both indexes opened the session higher with the S&P 500 briefly crossing the 5,500 level. By 12:50 p.m. ET, the broader benchmark was down nearly 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.5%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) still trailed gains as Salesforce ( CRM ) and ExxonMobil ( XOM ) lead the blue-chip index up 0.4%.
Dell, Super Micro shares move after Musk says companies will supply hardware for xAI
Shares of Dell ( DELL ) and Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) rallied Thursday after xAI founder Elon Musk said the companies are providing hardware for the supercomputer his AI startup is building.
As Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban reports, the higher moves underscore Wall Street’s excitement about AI technology.
Investors are looking to buy into AI businesses at every stage of development, from major consumer-facing brands that sell AI-powered applications to manufacturers that provide the chips and servers that power computing infrastructure.
Shares of Dell rose as much as 5% on Thursday, while shares of Super Micro rose nearly 9% before winning prices.
Dell CEO Michael Dell decided to raise his company’s stock price when he said in a post on Wednesday X, «We’re building a Dell AI factory with Nvidia to power Grok for xAI.»
Energy stocks lead to profits
Energy-related stocks led Thursday’s gains, with the S&P 500 Energy Select ETF (XLE) up more than 1%, helping lift 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 the broader benchmark’s year-to-date gains of 15%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5%, briefly crossing the 5,500 level for the first time.
Trending on Thursday
The top trends trending in Yahoo Finance on Thursday were all tech-related.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Shares of the chip giant rose as much as 3% on Thursday morning, climbing to new highs. Earlier this week Nvidia passed Microsoft ( MSFT ) as the world’s most valuable company.
Dell Technologies (vein)
Dell shares rose after CEO Michael Dell revealed that the hardware giant was partnering with Nvidia to build an AI factory for xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture.
«We’re building a Dell AI factory with @nvidia to power @grok for @xai @elonmusk,» Dell tweeted at X on Wednesday.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI)
SMCI jumped more than 8% after billionaire Elon Musk revealed that his artificial intelligence startup xAI will use Dell and Super Micro Computer’s server racks.
Year to date the stock is up more than 240%.
S&P 500 tops 5,500 for first time ever, Nasdaq also climbs to new highs
The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) breached the 5,500 level for the first time on Thursday as Nvidia ( NVDA ) stock continued its steady rally.
The broader index rose 0.5% after notching its 31st record close of the year on Tuesday.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) rose 0.3% to also touch record highs during Thursday’s session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%.
Housing starts fall to 4-year low as construction ‘continues to stall’
New government data released on Thursday showed that construction activity for residential housing fell to the 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 polled by Bloomberg had expected the start to come in at 1.370 million.
«The decline in housing starts in May is consistent with the recent slowdown in the issuance of permits, indicating that construction will continue to falter this year,» wrote Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics, after the release.
«This challenges our prediction that construction, particularly in the single-family sector, will boom this year given the lack of alternatives for buyers in the resale market.»
Separate data released on Wednesday showed that 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 noted that 7% mortgage rates were the culprit, pushing many potential buyers aside.
S&P 500 hits new high as Nvidia continues to rally
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 opened higher on Thursday as shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) continued to rise.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained roughly 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 ) rose 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell slightly below the flat line.
Nvidia became the world’s most valuable public company on Tuesday. Its post-June holiday rally continued Thursday morning as shares rose more than 2%.
