The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 hit new peaks on Thursday, buoyed again by gains in the technology sector.
The Nasdaq rose 0.9% to 26,635.2, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to 7,501.4 -- both logging record closing highs for the second straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8% to settle at 50,063.5.
Six of the 11 sectors were in the green, led by tech's 1.9% jump, while materials saw the biggest drop. The tech sector rallied yesterday too, ahead of high-stakes talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) shares rallied 13%, the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 and the Dow. Late Wednesday, Cisco's fiscal third-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's estimates, while the networking equipment maker announced a restructuring plan that involved thousands of layoffs.
Cisco's expanded hyperscaler partnerships are paying dividends for the company, as evidenced by management expectations for a surge in artificial intelligence orders, Morgan Stanley said in a note e-mailed Thursday.
Nvidia (NVDA) followed Cisco on the Dow, up 4.4%. IBM (IBM), Salesforce (CRM) and Microsoft (MSFT) also closed higher.
About 10 Chinese companies have secured US clearance to purchase Nvidia's H200 AI chip, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.
"Despite this approval, however, H200s still have not made their way to China given the apparent reluctance of Beijing to support Chinese firms' purchase of American made accelerators," Wedbush Securities analyst Matt Bryson said in a report. "We view this week's talks between the US and China as a chance to possibly shift this dynamic."
Trump arrived in China on Wednesday, along with Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang and other executives of major American companies. China's Xi told Huang and CEOs of companies including Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) that China will "open wider" to doing business, news outlets reported.
Boeing (BA) is set to get an order for 200 jets from China, Fox News reported, citing Trump. The US planemaker's shares declined 4.7%, the biggest drop on the Dow.
US Treasury yields were higher in Thursday late-afternoon trade, with the 10-year rate up 1.4 basis points at 4.48% and the two-year rate rising 2.1 basis points to 4.01%.
West Texas Intermediate crude was last up 1% at $102.07 a barrel, while Brent rose 0.9% to $106.55.
Xi and Trump agreed that the crucial Strait of Hormuz should remain open, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a White House readout of the Trump-Xi talks.
"The market could be pinning too much hope on the US-China talks yielding some positive results on Iran," ING Bank said in a note. "Some hope that China could exert pressure on Iran to reach a deal with the US, to end the war and lead to a resumption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz."
In other company news, Cerebras Systems (CBRS) surged 68% in its public market debut on Thursday, after the artificial intelligence chipmaker priced its initial public offering at well above the top end of the projected range.
In economic news, US retail sales in April rose for the third straight month, with analysts saying the increase largely reflected higher prices as the war in Iran kept fuel costs elevated.
Inflation has become the "most pressing risk" to the US economy, Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said Thursday.
"While inflation has moderated significantly from its peak, in my discussions with business leaders across the Tenth District, it is clear that it is still too high," Schmid said in prepared remarks for a conference.
Gold was last down 1.1% at $4,654.70 per troy ounce, while silver tumbled 6.2% to $83.84 per ounce.
