The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose Thursday as investors poured into cyclical stocks poised to benefit from an accelerating economy and rotated out of technology shares.
The Dow gained 461.88 points, or 1.06%, to finish at 43,870.35. The S&P 500 added 0.53% to close at 5,948.71. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.03% gain to end at 18,972.42.
"This is the week where everyone is rethinking the Trump trade," said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert. "People are taking it a little more seriously. It's not enough to just say 'we think the sector is going to do well' â you have to have some answers."
Some of Thursday's winners included bank stocks such as Goldman Sachs, industrials giant Caterpillar and retailer Home Depot. The Russell 2000 Index, viewed as a barometer for small companies and beneficiary of a possible boost to the economy from President-elect Donald Trump, added more than 1%.
Investors assessed results for artificial intelligence chip juggernaut Nvidia, which was up more than 190% this year into the results. Shares seesawed after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and issued strong guidance. Some traders attributed earlier declines in the stock to slowing revenue growth from previous quarters, or concerns that the chipmaker didn't exceed the most optimistic guidance estimate. Shares ultimately ended the session higher by 0.5%.
"While Nvidia's story of huge beats has underscored the dramatic rise in AI growth, investors would be prudent to consider whether Nvidia out pacing estimates to such a degree is sustainable," said AXS Investments CEO Greg Bassuk.
He expects the ongoing "tug-of-war" between bulls and bears to fuel potential volatility in the chipmaking stock.
Some other technology stocks felt the pressure. Amazon slumped 2.2%, while Alphabet declined nearly 5%, falling for a second session on antitrust fears. Snowflake was one bright spot in the sector, popping nearly 33% after the company topped Wall Street's estimates and lifted its product revenue guidance for the fiscal year. Salesforce rallied 3.1%.
Bitcoin also hit a fresh milestone, hitting a fresh intraday all-time high and crossing the $99,000 level for the first time as investors maintained their hopes that a second Trump presidency will usher in supportive regulation for the industry.