Stocks ended higher on Wednesday as Wall Street awaited the latest quarterly figures from Nvidia, which has just been reported after the bell.
The high-flying chipmaker that’s been bolstered by the artificial intelligence craze on Wall Street has reported $10.32 billion in data centre revenue, which was up 171% on an annual basis. Net income jumped to $6.19 billion, or $2.48 a share, from $656 million, or 26 cents a share, a year earlier.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 184.15 points higher, or 0.5% at 34,472.98. The S&P 500 gained 1.1% to end the day at 4,436.01, its best daily performance since June 30. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.6% to 13,721.03, making for three straight days of gains.
Athletic apparel stocks bucked the broader market’s positive trend, falling amid concern over inflation and slowing demand.
Nike fell for a 10th straight day, its longest slide on record, losing 2.7%.
Foot Locker shares fell 28.3% after reporting shrinking sales and lowering its forecast for the second time this year. The stock is on track for its biggest one-day drop, according to FactSet. Those moves come a day after Dick’s Sporting Goods suffered its worst day ever.
Traders cheered a decline in yields. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, which hit its highest level since 2007 on Monday, reaching 4.35%, dropped more than 11 basis points to 4.21% on Wednesday.
Investors also looked ahead to the start of a two-day Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, beginning Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to deliver remarks Friday.
In commodity-related news, a dozen money managers told Bloomberg they’re sticking with or increasing their gold investments in the next year. Despite recent challenges like rising yields and a stronger dollar, they’re cautiously optimistic about gold’s future, with most expecting price increases and some anticipating a new all-time high. None plan to decrease their gold exposure in the next twelve months.
Australia foresees a 350% surge in global demand for critical metals by 2040, driven by major economies pursuing net-zero emissions by 2050. With abundant reserves of key metals like lithium, nickel, zinc, and bauxite needed for clean energy transition, Australia is well positioned. The country also expects a substantial rise in lithium demand until 2063, bolstering its export market.
Overall, all US sectors except for Energy, closed higher overnight. Tech was the best performer after all the news surrounding Nvidia’s latest earning report.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.5 per cent gain.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7:20 AM was buying 64.79 US cents.
Commodities
Gold added 1.15 per cent. Silver gained 3.99 per cent. Copper added 1.29 per cent. Oil fell 0.94 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.68 per cent, Frankfurt gained 0.15 per cent, and Paris closed 0.08 per cent higher.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.48 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.31 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.34 per cent lower.
The Australian sharemarket closed 0.38 per cent higher at 7,148.
Ex-dividends
Baby Bunting Grp (ASX:BBN) is paying 4.8 cents fully franked
Capral (ASX:CAA) is paying 20 cents fully franked
Endeavour (ASX:EDV) is paying 7.5 cents fully franked
JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) is paying 115 cents fully franked
Platinum Asia (ASX:PAI) is paying 2.5 cents fully franked
Platinum Capital (ASX:PMC) is paying 3 cents fully franked
Regal Asian Invest (ASX:RG8) is paying 5 cents fully franked
Dividends payable
Dexus Convenience Retail REIT (ASX:DXC)
Dexus Industria REIT (ASX:DXI)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
Disclaimer
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