Stocks were slightly higher in afternoon trading Thursday after a federal court struck down most of the Trump administration’s tariffs, while the technology sector rallied following a strong earnings report from AI chipmaker Nvidia.
The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were each up 0.3% recently, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%. Stocks had finished slightly lower on Wednesday as investors braced for the highly anticipated quarterly results from Nvidia (NVDA), which has become the poster child for the AI boom.
Shortly after the closing bell yesterday, Nvidia reported that its fiscal first-quarter revenue surged 69% from the year-ago period to $44 billion, while CEO Jensen Huang said that demand remains “incredibly strong” and is likely to accelerate as AI adoption becomes mainstream.
Nvidia shares were up more than 3% recently, after hitting their highest level in three months and boosting the chipmaker back to the top of the list of the world’s most valuable companies. Other mega cap tech stocks were mostly higher but had fallen from earlier highs. Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA) and Broadcom (AVGO) gained ground while Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOG) fell slightly.
Market participants are also closely tracking developments on the trade front after a federal court said late Wednesday that President Donald Trump had overstepped his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose massive tariffs on leading U.S. trade partners. Uncertainty about trade policy has roiled financial markets in recent months, though the stock market has largely recovered from its early-April tariff-related swoon as Trump has appeared to soften his stance.
Shares of Best Buy (BBY) were down more than 8% in recent trading, pacing S&P 500 decliners, after the electronics retailer cut its outlook due to the expected impact of tariffs. HP Inc. (HPQ) also dropped 8% after the PC manufacturer lowered its full-year guidance, also citing the impact of trade-related costs. Among other noteworthy movers, Salesforce (CRM) shares were down more than 4% to lead Dow decliners after the cloud software giant reported its results.
Bitcoin was at $106,300, down from a high this morning of near $109,000. The digital currency hit an all-time high of $112,000 last week, its first record since just before Trump’s inauguration in January.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of consumer and corporate loans, was at 4.42% recently, down from 4.48% at yesterday’s close. The yield moved as high as 4.63% last week, its highest level in more than three months, amid rising concerns about the federal deficit as the GOP tax and spending bill moved through Congress.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.6% at 99.28.
Gold futures were up 0.7% at $3,320 per ounce, rebounding from two straight days of declines, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, slipped 1.4% to $61.00 per barrel, giving back the previous session’s gains.
Best Buy Tumbles Retailer Cuts Outlook Owing to Tariffs
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Best Buy (BBY) shares tumbled to lead S&P 500 decliners Thursday after the electronics retailer lowered its full-year outlook because of tariffs.
The retailer now sees fiscal 2026 revenue between $41.1 billion and $41.9 billion, below its prior guidance of $41.4 billion to $42.2 billion; comparable sales ranging from down 1% to up 1%, versus flat to up 2.0%; and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.15 to $6.30, down from $6.20 to $6.60. Despite the cuts, the midpoints of Best Buy’s new projections all were in line with or above Visible Alpha consensus estimates.
“Today we are updating our full-year guidance to incorporate the impact of tariffs,” Best Buy CFO Matt Bilunas said. “Our underlying working assumptions are that tariffs stay at the current levels for the rest of the year, and there is no material change in consumer behavior from the trends we have seen in recent quarters.”
Best Buy gets a large portion of its products from China and Mexico, both of which have been hit by the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. China accounted for 55% and Mexico 20% of the company’s sourcing in its fiscal 2025, according to its annual report.
The lowered full-year projections came as the retailer reported mixed first-quarter results, with adjusted EPS of $1.15 topping Visible Alpha estimates but revenue of $8.77 billion falling short. Comparable store sales fell 0.7% year-over year, far greater than the projected 0.2% decline.
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Best Buy shares were down more than 8% in mid-afternoon trading. The stock has lost nearly a quarter of its value since the start of the year.
What Analysts Are Saying About Nvidia Earnings
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Nvidia (NVDA) shares surged Thursday as the chipmaker’s quarterly results impressed Wall Street, even as export controls took a bite out of China sales.
Nvidia’s record-high sales exceeded analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha, though earnings did not, as the company said it absorbed a $4.5 billion charge in the period due to restrictions on the export of its H20 chips to China.
Here’s what five analysts had to say about Nvidia’s results:
- Oppenheimer called Nvidia the “best house on the best block” and said it’s the best-positioned company in AI. The firm reiterated its “outperform” rating and $175 price target.
- Bank of America said server racks of Nvidia’s Blackwell AI chips are “in full production,” with “every large hyperscaler” client now ramping close to 1,000 racks every week. The bank raised its price target to $180 from $160.
- Morningstar analysts said they were “encouraged by Nvidia’s revenue growth despite being blocked from selling H20 products.” Blackwell supply and revenue “expanded faster than we anticipated and should support higher long-term AI revenue,” they added, raising their target to $140 from $125.
- UBS noted the H20 curb was largely offset by Nvidia’s gaming segment performing much better than expected, as the company’s Blackwell chips are “catalyzing an [AI PC] upgrade cycle.” UBS kept its “buy” rating and $175 price target.
- Morgan Stanley analysts echoed the sentiment that Nvidia showed “acceleration of the business other than the China headwinds,” adding, “everything should get better from here.” Morgan Stanley. “NVIDIA numbers show clear acceleration ex China.” The analysts raised their target to $170 from $160.
Nvidia shares were up 3% at around $139 in mid-afternoon trading.
Nvidia Reclaims Title of World’s Most Valuable Company
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Nvidia stock soared on Thursday, returning the AI chip giant to the top of the list of the world’s most valuable companies.
Nvidia (NVDA) shares were up about 4% in recent trading, adding more than $100 billion to the company’s market value. Thursday’s gains put Nvidia’s market cap at about $3.44 trillion, edging out Microsoft’s (MSFT) $3.41 trillion value.
The shares were reacting on Thursday to a solid quarterly report on Wednesday afternoon. Nvidia reported record revenue in its fiscal first quarter as AI demand remained robust.
Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple (AAPL) have been jostling to be the world’s most valuable company for nearly a year. The three are the only companies to have ever achieved a market value of more than $3 trillion. Nvidia reached that milestone almost exactly a year ago, while Apple first closed at $3 trillion in June 2023 and Microsoft reached $3 trillion in January 2024.
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All three stocks have been hit to a certain degree by economic and trade uncertainty this year, but only Microsoft and Nvidia have shaken off the worst of it. Nvidia’s and Microsoft’s stocks are up about 5% and 9%, respectively, since the start of the year. Apple shares, meanwhile, are down about 20%, battered by President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs on China, where the company assembles the majority of its products, and insistence that it move production to America.
Nvidia’s market cap, despite Thursday’s jump, remains below its record of $3.66 trillion from earlier January when shares set their all-time high.
How Goldman Interprets Last Night’s Ruling on Tariffs
3 hr 48 min ago
Wednesday night’s court ruling that blocked some of the Trump administration’s tariffs may not change the endgame for the president’s trade policy, according to Goldman Sachs.
A U.S. federal court struck down President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs and other import taxes, leaving sector-specific tariffs in place. The White House quickly appealed the decision, which ruled that the administration had overstepped its authority.
“This ruling represents a setback for the administration’s tariff plans and increases uncertainty but might not change the final outcome for most major U.S. trading partners,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote late Wednesday.
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Other takeaways from Goldman’s note include:
- The ruling doesn’t affect tariffs on imported steel, aluminum and automobiles, or stop the administration from levying further sector-related tariffs. “If the White House finds it has less flexibility on country-focused tariffs, sectoral tariffs might receive more attention again,” wrote Goldman analysts.
- There are multiple ways that Trump could enact similar tariffs to those that were struck down.
- One way to potentially avoid court scrutiny moving forward is through “Section 301 investigations.” The U.S. Trade Representative conducts these investigations of trading partners. The analysts wrote that the investigations can take weeks or months to complete and would result in a longer timeline to implement tariffs.
- The administration could also use authority under Section 330 of the Trade Act of 1930 to levy tariffs. Those tariffs, Goldman noted, would not require an investigation but are limited to 50%. That authority has never been used.
- Still another form of authority could be used to set tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days. After that window, Congress would have to act to extend the tariffs.
The upshot of all this, Goldman suggests, is that even if the latest court issues aren’t resolved quickly, the administration has a range of other tools for enacting trade policy.
“For now, we expect the Trump administration will find other ways to impose tariffs,” Goldman wrote.
HP Posts Weaker-Than-Expected Profit, Cuts Outlook
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Shares of HP Inc. (HPQ) tumbled Thursday, a day after the PC and printer manufacturer posted worse-than-anticipated profit and lowered its full-year outlook as it warned of the impact of tariffs.
The company reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.71 on revenue that rose more than 3% year-over-year to $13.22 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha expected $0.81 and $13.10 billion, respectively.
Personal Systems sales increased 7% to $9.0 billion. Printing sales slid 4% to $4.2 billion.
CEO Enrique Lores said that the performance was “impacted by a dynamic regulatory environment,” although the company “responded quickly to accelerate the expansion of our manufacturing footprint and further reduce our cost structure.” According to a transcript provided by AlphaSense, Lores added during the earnings call that additional tariff costs “could not be fully mitigated in the quarter,” and that HP has “implemented price increases to help offset cost pressure.”
CFO Karen Parkhill noted that because of “increased macroeconomic uncertainty,” the company adjusted its outlook “to reflect moderated demand and the net impact of trade-related costs.” HP now sees full-year adjusted EPS of $3.00 to $3.30, down from its earlier outlook of $3.45 to $3.75.3
Following the report, JPMorgan cut its price target on the stock to $27 from $30.4
HP shares were down 5% at around $26 in recent trading. The stock has lost about a fifth of its value so far in 2025.
Nvidia Levels to Watch as Stock Surges After Earnings
5 hr 21 min ago
Nvidia (NVDA) shares jumped in early trading Thursda after the AI chipmaker surpassed Wall Street’s quarterly revenue expectations amid booming AI-related demand.
The company announced after the closing bell yesterday that its fiscal first-quarter sales rose 69% from a year earlier to $44.06 billion, as major technology companies continue to ramp up spending on AI infrastructure. Profit was lower than analysts had estimated, as the company recorded a $4.5 billion charge in the quarter due to restrictions on the sale of its H20 chips to China, though the amount was less than the $5.5 billion the company said it anticipated last month.
CEO Jensen Huang said global demand for Nvidia’s AI infrastructure remains “incredibly strong”, adding that he sees accelerating demand for AI computing with the use of AI agents becoming mainstream.
Nvidia shares slumped between January and early April amid concerns of a slowdown in AI spending and the Trump administration’s unpredictable trade policies. However, the stock has rebounded 60% from last month’s low as trade tensions eased and investor risk appetite returned.
Nvidia shares rallied sharply after breaking out from a pennant earlier this month, before consolidating again within a flag pattern above the closely watched 200-day moving average (MA). More recently, the stock has broken out above the flag pattern’s upper trendline, a move that has coincided with the 50-day moving average crossing above the 200-day MA to form a bullish golden cross.
The stock’s upside momentum looks set to continue, though investors should watch if trading volume confirms the move higher. During the lead-up to earnings, share turnover had declined, indicating investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the highly anticipated results.
The stock was up more than 5% at around $142 in recent trading. Nvidia shares haven’t closed above $140 since Feb. 20.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Stock Indexes Poised to Open Higher
6 hr 28 min ago
Futures are pointing to a higher open for major U.S. stock indexes, though the gains for futures have moderated substantially over the past few hours.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were recently up 0.3%.
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S&P 500 futures rose 0.9%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures added 1.4%.
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