HONG KONG (AP) — Wall Street hit a record high on Wednesday and Asian markets continued to rise on Thursday as enthusiasm over artificial intelligence technology continued to fuel a rise in stocks.
U.S. futures and oil prices rose.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.9% to 38,841.75, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% to 18,569.48 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1% to 3,068.31.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.7 percent to 7,824.40 after data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Australia’s trade surplus recovered in April, with exports falling 2.5 percent and imports dropping 7.2 percent.
Taiwan’s Taiex rose 2% after electronics-component maker Foxconn’s shares rose 0.6% after the company said its sales in May rose 22.1% from a year earlier, its highest ever for the month. Bangkok’s SET added 0.4%.
South Korean markets were closed for a public holiday.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.2% to 5,354.03, breaking the all-time high it set two weeks ago. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2% to 17,187.90, also hitting a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is less weighted towards tech stocks, underperformed the market, rising 0.2% to 38,807.33.
This gathering totaled Nvidia’s market valueThe AI market, which has become a symbol of the AI boom, has exceeded 3 trillion dollars for the first time.
Nvidia, which led the way because its chips power much of the rapid move into AI, rose another 5.2% to bring its gains this year to more than 147%.
The company also joins Microsoft and Apple as the only U.S. stocks with a market capitalization above $3 trillion, with Apple climbing 0.8% on Wednesday to reclaim that milestone.
The rise in tech stocks Dollar TreeThe company said its profits were in line with analysts’ expectations but sales fell slightly short. The company also said it was considering selling or separating its Family Dollar business.
The retail sector as a whole highlights the challenges facing lower-income American families as they try to keep up with still-high inflation.
In the bond market, Treasury yields fell after mixed economic data. One report said real estate, health care and other U.S. service sectors returned to growth last month, beating economists’ expectations. Perhaps more importantly for Wall Street, the Institute for Supply Management report also said price growth slowed in May from the previous month.
A separate report said hiring at U.S. employers other than the government slowed more than expected last month.
Stocks have been volatile recently on reports that U.S. economic growth is slowing under the weight of high interest rates, a slowdown that Wall Street is actually hoping for, because it would keep inflation in check and allow the Federal Reserve to make some much-needed interest rate cuts.
But it also increases the chances of going too far and plunging the economy into recession, ultimately hurting stock prices.
The weaker-than-expected economic data has raised expectations of future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, sending Treasury yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.29% from Tuesday’s close of 4.33% and 4.60% a week ago.
The next big move for Treasury yields and Wall Street overall could come on Friday, when the U.S. government releases its monthly jobs report. The report will be much more comprehensive than ADP’s report on Wednesday, and economists expect Friday’s data to show a slight increase in overall employment. There is still hope that job market growth will slow, but not enough to lead to widespread layoffs.
Meanwhile, benchmark U.S. crude rose 40 cents to $74.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 30 cents to $78.71 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 155.59 yen from 156.10 yen. The euro rose to 1.0892 dollars from 1.0868 dollars.
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AP Business Writer Stan Cho contributed.
