U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with the technology industry leading the way ahead of the release of employment and housing-related economic data.
The major indices are shaping up for a positive week, with the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite hitting new records on Tuesday, thanks to earnings from market darling Nvidia (NVDA).
The stock market remained closed on Wednesday due to the June 1 holiday.
Nvidia continues to do well
The technology sector, and Nvidia in particular, will likely remain in the spotlight on Thursday after the chipmaker became the world’s most valuable company earlier this week.
Nvidia has been one of the big beneficiaries of the rise of artificial intelligence applications, and is currently worth over $1 trillion. This figure makes it more highly valued than many other tech giants, after it overtook Apple (AAPL) earlier this month.
Before the market opened, Nvidia was up 3%, on the verge of adding another $130 billion to its market capitalization, having gained 174% year to date.
Elsewhere, shares of Trump Media & Technology Group fell more than 5% just before the markets opened, adding to Tuesday’s 10% loss, after a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission decision authorized investors in the company’s derivatives, called warrants, to exchange their holdings for company stock, something that could dilute long-term investors.
Fed needs to be “patient
The economic data agenda includes initial jobless claims figures and housing starts data later in the session as investors try to find more signals about when the Fed will start cutting interest rates.
Several Fed officials have remained cautious about anticipating rate cuts too soon, waiting for more evidence that inflation is back under control before the central bank agrees to loosen monetary policy.
Thomas Barkin, a member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), will deliver a speech later in the session after Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said Tuesday that the U.S. central bank can remain patient with interest rate policy.
“We’re going to need to see several more months of that data to really have confidence in our outlook that we’re headed to 2%,” Logan said at an event in Austin, Texas. “We’re in a good position, we’re in a flexible position to look at the data and be patient.”
Crude oil declines on demand worries
Crude oil prices were steady on Thursday ahead of the release of official U.S. inventories data.
There was no WTI settlement on Wednesday due to a U.S. holiday, causing trading to remain very muted.
Reports released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute indicated that U.S. crude stocks rose by just over 2 million barrels in the week ended June 14, pointing to a decline in demand even during the important summer driving season.
The Energy Information Administration will release official statistics on Thursday, a day later due to the July 4 holiday.
The turmoil in the oil-rich Middle East has supported the market: Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned of an eventual “all-out war” with Hezbollah in Lebanon, while his country continues to fight Hamas in Gaza.
