Xinhua
26 May 2023, 09:18 GMT+10
NEW YORK, May 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as companies linking to artificial intelligence (AI) fueled investors' enthusiasm, outweighing debt default concerns.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35.27 points, or 0.11 percent, to 32,764.65. The S&P 500 added 36.04 points, or 0.88 percent, to 4,151.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 213.93 points, or 1.71 percent, to 12,698.09.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with energy and utilities leading the laggards by losing 1.89 percent and 1.38 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and communication services led the gainers by rising 4.45 percent and 0.43 percent, respectively.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped after chip maker Nvidia issued an encouraging sales forecast due to increasing demand for artificial intelligence technology. Nvidia's stock surged 24.37 percent, boosting other shares tied to AI, which was a major theme driving markets Thursday.
Meanwhile, negotiations between U.S. President Joe Biden and congressional leaders advanced Thursday, with key Republican representative telling reporters that the list of issues dividing the two sides had grown shorter.
Biden said at a White House event that he and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy "had several productive conversations" and "our staffs continue to meet." This statement came one day after ratings agency Fitch warned about a possible U.S. credit rating downgrade.
"The Rating Watch Negative reflects increased political partisanship that is hindering reaching a resolution to raise or suspend the debt limit," said Fitch.
Fitch said it still expects a resolution to the debt limit before the x-date when the U.S. Treasury exhausts its cash position and capacity for extraordinary measures without incurring new debt.
"Wall Street is taking a very short break from debt ceiling angst/Fed tightening and focusing on Nvidia's AI boom. The Nasdaq is rallying as Nvidia's outlook bolstered bets that AI will be the key to mega-cap tech's growth story," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of online multi-asset trading services.
"Debt ceiling drama also eased as Speaker McCarthy stated that some progress was made, though issues remain," said Moya.
Investors are also digesting a flurry of new economic data.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that new jobless claims rose to 229,000 in the week ending May 20, compared with the previous week's revised level of 225,000.
The U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2023, compared with the preliminary reading of 1.1 percent, according to the second estimate from the U.S. Department of Commerce issued on Thursday.
Get a daily dose of Broadcast Communications news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Broadcast Communications.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - Republicans were in uproar Tuesday over the deal hammered out by President Joe Biden and ...
DETROIT, Michigan: After Ford Motor Co announced an agreement with Tesla to allow autos to be charged using the Tesla ...
WARSAW, Poland: Plans are underway in Poland to gradually raise the minimum wage twice in 2024. The wage plan has ...
BEIJING, China: China will put into commercial operation its first large passenger airliner, in a bid to challenge western plane ...
FRANKFURT, Germany - With U.S. and UK. markets closed for public holidays, it was left to European and broader global ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The Verge has reported that Verizon Communications met with more than 6,000 customer service employees ...
washington - Turkey's broadcasting watchdog on Tuesday announced it is investigating six opposition TV channels for "insulting the public" through ...
Sydney - The Australian parliament has begun an investigation into the local arm of the global consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), ...
NewsVoirNew Delhi [India], May 29:Catch-up with Tech threw spotlight on the extensive showcase of newly launched devices including Motorola Edge ...
PNNMumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 29:Company has recently won the bid in recently concluded tender floated by Eastern Railway, Ministry of ...
The West has been hampering the growth of African nations, who are now turning to the East, Bisrat Melesse saysAfrica ...
Islamabad [Pakistan], May 28 (ANI): The ruling parties in Pakistan have rejected troublesome former Prime Minister Imran Khan's offer for ...