A New York stock Exchange operator (AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU)
The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Thursday, punishing Nvidia for results that left the market hungry but without attacking other stocks.
At around 2:20 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones was up 0.57%, the Nasdaq index was up 0.61% and the broader S&P 500 index was up 0.44%.
The New York market reacted calmly to the publication of Nvidia’s accounts after the stock market closed on Wednesday, while many were predicting a sudden move.
Semiconductor superstar Nvidia has far exceeded expectations, but its revenue growth has slowed, although it remains incomparably higher than that of its rivals (+122% year-on-year).
This was enough for investors to punish the title, even if they only did so in limited proportions (-4.71%).
“If there were a real disappointment, due to fundamental weakness, Nvidia would fall much further, and other AI (artificial intelligence) stocks would do the same,” Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com said in a note.
For Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers, the measured reaction of operators can also be explained by the movement of risk aversion on Wednesday, prior to the presentation of Nvidia’s accounts.
“The market is doing well today because we sold yesterday for fear” of a bad surprise, the analyst said.
“It’s also a sign that the market is able to take a step back,” Sosnick adds. “It’s looking past this and seeing this as an opportunity to buy.”
With the exception of Nvidia, all the tech giants saw strong growth, particularly Microsoft (+2.05%) and Apple (+1.86%).
Bond rates were tightening after the revision of the growth figure in the United States for the second quarter, which came out at 3% at an annualized rate compared to 2.8% initially.
Investors also noted in the Commerce Department report an upward revision to inflation, to 2.5% from 2.3%.
Another indicator of the vitality of the American economy, new unemployment claims fell slightly last week.
The yield on 10-year US government bonds rose to 3.87% from 3.83% on Wednesday at the close.
The market tone was so positive that operators ignored the downward revision of targets by cybersecurity group CrowdStrike (+3.72%).
The company has thus taken into account the consequences of the incident of July 19, during which an update of CrowdStrike software caused a global computer outage.
Elsewhere in the stock market, online marketing group Salesforce was praised (+0.28%) after better-than-market-predicted results.
CEO and co-founder Marc Benioff touted the merits of his new AI-powered Agentforce platform, openly criticizing Microsoft in the process.
“Microsoft has disappointed a lot of customers with its AI,” he said during the earnings call.
Electronics chain Best Buy surged 17.52% after reporting better-than-expected results and raising its full-year guidance. CFO Matt Bilunas expects the sector to continue to stabilize in the second half.
Another representative of the retail trade, the lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret (-2.88%) also exceeded forecasts and raised its objectives, but its sales are down.
Although its CEO Timothy Johnson reported a “difficult” environment, he said he was “optimistic” and noted “positive signs” in his market.
The picture was less rosy at discount chain Dollar General (-27.07%), which missed the target in the previous quarter and lowered its guidance. Chief Executive Todd Vasos spoke of “a consumer who feels financially constrained.”
The online deferred payment specialist Affirm jumped (+31.38%) after surpassing analysts’ expectations and indicating that it was aiming for operational profitability by mid-2025.
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