S&P 500, Nasdaq hit fresh highs as Nvidia rallies; US-China talks in focus

Wall Street extended its rally on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq touching fresh intraday record highs, led by gains in chipmaker Nvidia as investors tracked economic data and developments from the high-stakes US-China summit, Reuters reported.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 270.32 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 49,963.52 in early trade. The S&P 500 gained 0.38 per cent to 7,472.57, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.35 per cent to 26,495.19.Nvidia climbed 3 per cent after Reuters reported that the US had cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy the company’s H200 artificial intelligence chip. The rally lifted Nvidia’s market valuation to nearly $5.6 trillion.Technology stocks continued to lead gains, with the S&P 500 technology index rising 1 per cent.Cisco Systems surged 14.7 per cent to an all-time high after the networking giant announced plans to cut nearly 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring exercise and raised its annual revenue forecast following strong demand from hyperscaler clients.Markets also reacted to economic data showing US retail sales rose 0.5 per cent in April, in line with estimates. However, analysts said part of the increase likely reflected higher inflation driven by elevated energy and commodity prices amid the ongoing Iran conflict.“Consumers aren’t in a recession, but they’re not powering the economy either. Higher inflation, tariffs and demographic changes have taken a toll on retail spending as a growth driver,” David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation, said, quoted Reuters.“Today’s retail numbers don’t ring any alarm bells at the Fed, so they keep an upward bias on interest rates. The consumer is strong enough to rule out rate cuts,” he added.According to Reuters, data also showed that the number of Americans filing unemployment benefit claims rose moderately last week, indicating continued stability in the labour market.Investor attention remained focused on the two-day summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.Xi said trade discussions were making progress but cautioned that tensions over Taiwan could place bilateral ties on a “dangerous path” and potentially risk conflict.The summit is also taking place against the backdrop of the Iran conflict and disruptions in global energy markets. A White House official said the leaders agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open and that Iran must not obtain nuclear weapons.Recent higher-than-expected consumer and producer inflation readings have strengthened market expectations that the US Federal Reserve could keep interest rates elevated for longer.According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, traders are now pricing in more than a 28 per cent chance of a quarter-point rate hike by the end of 2026, up from 20.7 per cent a week ago.