Update: US Equity Indexes Rise as Nvidia's Blowout Quarterly Results Lift Technology
(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose after Nvidia's (NVDA) strong fiscal Q2 results boosted technology, helping outweigh declines in all other sectors.The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4% to 26,505.5, the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 7,732.1, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3% to 53,635.9 after midday Thursday. All sectors, except technology, declined. Consumer staples and consumer discretionary were among the worst performers.Shares of Nvidia jumped 9.4%, among the top gainers across all three mainstream indexes, after the company posted fiscal Q2 earnings and revenue that more than doubled from a year earlier, and issued a fiscal Q3 revenue forecast above analysts' expectations.Nvidia offered a surprisingly strong fiscal 2028 revenue outlook, while its gross margin guidance provided clarity amid rising memory costs, Morgan Stanley said in a note.Salesforce (CRM) surged 22%, the leader on the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the Dow, after the company posted higher fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue, and lifted its fiscal 2027 guidance.CrowdStrike (CRWD) soared 19%, also one of the biggest gainers on the three indexes, after the company reported higher fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue, and raised its full-year net new annual recurring revenue outlook. This is a "blowout quarter as AI demand inflects across the platform," according to a Truist Securities note.Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, all top 10 names by intraday returns were in the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those 10 firms, almost all were from either the software or semiconductor industries, with Salesforce leading the pack.Instead of succumbing to the threats of economic destruction by the Trump administration, Iran is touting its ability to inflict reciprocal pain, CNN reported."If the economic war continues, not a single drop of oil will be exported, neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf," Mohsen Rezaei, the leader of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was cited as saying on X, according to CNN. "We will retaliate in an earthquake-like manner," he said later in a televised interview.Qatar's foreign ministry said Iran and Doha discussed an agreement to implement a "joint project" to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz as well as "efforts to reduce escalation and create appropriate conditions for dialogue," according to a report from Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract climbed 0.8% to $82.90 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent jumped 1.3% to $88.95 per barrel.In economic news, the advance international trade in goods deficit widened to $118.81 billion in July from $101.41 billion in June, according to data released by the US Census Bureau. This was a wider gap than the $100.5 billion deficit expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Exports fell 2.9% in July while imports rose by 3.7%.US initial jobless claims fell to 203,000 in the week ended Aug. 22 from an upwardly revised 207,000 in the previous week, in contrast with expectations for an increase to 208,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average rose by 1,250 to 205,500 after increasing in the previous week.The Fed's annual economic policy Symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is set to kick off on Thursday, with Chair Kevin Warsh scheduled to speak on Friday.Most US Treasury yields slipped after midday. The 10-year yield was steady at 4.66%, and the two-year was unchanged at 4.22%.
