U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, led by a tech rally after semiconductor giant NVIDIA issued a robust revenue forecast, reassuring investors about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI). All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 0.2%, or 105.56 points, to close at 53,569.44 points.
The S&P 500 jumped 0.7%, or 55.29 points, to finish at 7,730.99 points. Tech stocks were the only gainer.
The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) gained 3.2%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.6%, or 411.16 points, to end at 26,541.35 points.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was down 4.60% to 14.51. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.02-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.11-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 14.9 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.3 billion.
On the NYSE, there were 192 new highs and 82 new lows. On the Nasdaq, there were 73 new 52-week highs and 85 new lows. On the S&P 500, there were 15 new 52-week highs and eight new lows.
NVIDIA Drives Broader Market Rally
Stocks rallied on Thursday, led by an 8.7% jump in shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) after the semiconductor giant reported blowout earnings and forecast solid revenue growth.
NVIDIA reported second-quarter 2026 earnings of $2.22 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.09 per share. The company posted revenues of $96.22 billion for the quarter ended July 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.82%.
The tech behemoth also projected revenue growth of 70% for fiscal 2028, sharply higher than analysts’ earlier projections. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
NVIDIA’s revenue forecast reassured investors that the AI boom has a lot of potential and isn’t just a bubble. The robust quarterly results from NVIDIA gave a boost to other tech stocks, especially chipmakers. Shares of Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) gained 4.5%, while Intel Corporation (INTC) rose 4.4%.
Besides chipmakers, Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) gained big on Thursday, with the company’s shares surging 22.6% after the company beat on both earnings and revenue estimates. Salesforce reported second-quarter earnings of $5.9 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.27 per share.
The company reported revenues of $11.35 billion for the quarter ended July 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.25%.
