US stocks jumped on Thursday, setting the stage for fresh record highs. Investors welcomed a slew of updates, including solid US economic data, Micron’s (MU) upbeat earnings, and China’s pledges of more stimulus while they waited to hear from Jerome Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.7% after both gauges slipped back from all-time highs in the prior session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the advance, surging 1.2% amid a sharp spike in Micron’s shares.
Stocks are looking solidly positive again thanks to a triple dose of optimism for the AI trade, for the health of the US economy, and for China’s stimulus push, which could reverberate through US markets.
Nvidia (NVDA) supplier Micron lifted its next-quarter revenue forecast, citing robust demand for its memory chips used in AI data centers. Chip stocks Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), ASML (ASML), and STMicro (STM) rose in the wake of the earnings report.
Also, a final update from the US government on second quarter GDP growth beat Wall Street expectations, while weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell to the lowest levels in four months.
Meanwhile, China’s top leaders signaled they are pulling out the stops to revive its moribund economy with new pledges to lift fiscal spending, halt the property crisis and support the stock market. A big jump in mainland stocks set the CSI 300 (000300.SS) on track for its best week in a decade.
Helping the upbeat mood were growing expectations for another jumbo interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Traders are pricing in 60% odds of a 0.5% move at its November meeting, versus 40% a week ago.
Read more: What the Fed rate cut means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
Investors are waiting for Fed Chair Powell’s statement later to test those hopes, the highlight in a parade of Fed speakers on Thursday. Their comments will set the stage for Friday’s highly anticipated reading on the PCE index, the inflation metric preferred by the Fed.
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