by Noel Randewich and Ankika Biswas

(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply higher on Thursday, buoyed by investor enthusiasm over artificial intelligence that contributed to gains for Nvidia and other semiconductor makers, even as the he uncertainty over interest rates weighed particularly on the real estate sector.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.54% to 37,468.61 points.

The broader S&P-500 gained 0.88% to 4,780.94 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.35% to 15,055.65 points.

Wall Street has experienced ups and downs since the start of the year, in a context of less optimism about the speed with which the American Federal Reserve (Fed) will begin to reduce rates.

Major indexes ended in the red on Tuesday and Wednesday, after data showing strong retail sales and comments from Fed officials dimmed hopes of an imminent shift in monetary policy.

The S&P-500 resumed its ascent on Thursday, coming within 0.3% of its January 2022 closing record.

Data published today showed that weekly jobless claims in the United States fell to their lowest level since the end of 2022, suggesting solid employment growth at the start of the year.

“People are starting to wonder” about when the first rate cut by the Fed will come, said Jake Dollarhide, managing director of Longbow Asset Management, after they had “assumed” that the US central bank would reduce its rates from March.

However, he added, artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling “shattering” growth in the market which, according to him, “is not going to stop anytime soon”.

The head of the Atlanta Fed, Raphael Bostic, said he was willing to cut rates earlier than he previously anticipated if inflation were to fall more sharply than expected in the coming months. . He had said in the past that a first rate cut would be appropriate in the second half of 2024.

Anticipated at 80% by traders a month ago, according to FedWatch data, the probability of a first rate cut in March is now estimated at 56%.

Among the major sectors of the S&P-500, those particularly sensitive to interest rates, such as real estate (-0.6%) and utilities (-1.05%), ended the session in the red.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) jumped nearly 10% after forecasting revenue growth of more than 20% in 2024, amid soaring demand for cutting-edge chips used for services of AI.

In TSMC’s wake, Nvidia rose 1.9% to a record, with unparalleled trading volume – nearly $28 billion worth of shares. Its competitor Advanced Micro Devices, up 1.6%, also stood at a peak.

Apple rose 3.3% after BofA Global Research raised its recommendation for the Apple firm to “buy”. This brought communications services to an all-time high.

( Jean Terzian)

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