NEW YORK :The S&P 500 and Nasdaq registered record closing highs on Thursday, and Nvidia’s market value closed above $4 trillion for the first time, while the Brazilian real recovered some losses following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50 per cent tariff on the country’s goods.
Also helping Wall Street, shares of Delta Air Lines jumped 12 per cent after it forecast third-quarter and full-year profits above analysts’ estimates. Other travel stocks also rose, including United Airlines, which ended 14.3 per cent higher, and Hertz Global, up 11.8 per cent.
Shares of Nvidia ended up 0.75 per cent at $164.10, giving the chipmaker a market value of $4.004 trillion, thanks to surging demand for artificial-intelligence. The move solidified its position as one of Wall Street’s most-favored stocks.
Trump confirmed a 50 per cent tariff would be imposed on copper, and said it would start August 1.
The Brazilian real recovered some losses that followed the tariff news. Late on Wednesday, the currency’s volatility gauges surged to their highest levels since late April. The dollar was last down 0.8 per cent against the real . Brazilian stocks were down 0.5 per cent.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vowed retaliation against unilateral tariff hikes.
Some traders said U.S. consumers could see sharp price increases for coffee and orange juice if Trump sticks to the Brazil tariffs.
Reactions in the broader market to Trump’s latest tariff moves have been less severe than in April, possibly reflecting expectations that ongoing negotiations between Washington and trade partners could yield agreements.
Investors are gearing up for second-quarter earnings, looking for signs of an impact from Trump’s trade war launched on April 2.
Bruce Zaro, managing director at Granite Wealth Management in Plymouth, Massachusetts, said the market appears to be in a holding pattern ahead of reports from S&P 500 companies.
JPMorgan Chase is due to release results Tuesday, essentially kicking off the reporting period.
“There’s been great skepticism with all of the analysts that follow the S&P 500, how they’ve been reducing their estimates at large, based on the tariffs and uncertainty around that,” he said.
“But we think, when all is said and done, those growth companies, and specifically tech companies, are going to come through with fabulous earnings. So I think the market is in a waiting period.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 192.34 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 44,650.64, the S&P 500 rose 17.20 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 6,280.46 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 19.33 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 20,630.67.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 1.92 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 926.22. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.54 per cent.
Bitcoin rallied to another all-time high. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last up 2.56 per cent to $113,609.36.
Investors also digested upbeat quarterly results from TSMC, which showed strong demand for the world’s largest contract chipmaker’s products, fueled by surging interest in AI applications.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.23 per cent to 97.61.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields edged higher after U.S. data showed jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week and as investors focused on how tariffs will impact inflation.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes was last up 0.4 basis points on the day at 4.346 per cent.
Oil prices fell as investors weighed potential effects of Trump’s tariffs on growth. Brent crude futures settled at $68.64 a barrel, down $1.55, or 2.21 per cent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $66.57 a barrel, down by $1.81, or 2.65 per cent.
Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $3,323.39 an ounce.