After taking a breather on Wednesday, stocks regained their momentum on Thursday:
- The benchmark S&P 500 rose 23 points, or 0.4%, to 5,745—setting an all-time high for the third time this week and the 42nd time this year, per the AP.
- The Dow rose 260 points, or 0.6%, to 42,175.
- The Nasdaq rose 108 points, or 0.6%, to 18,190.
Micron Technology led the way with a jump of 14% after the maker of computer memory and storage delivered stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It pointed to sales related to artificial-intelligence technology, where a boom has helped drive some stocks to astounding heights. Jabil climbed 11.8% after the electronics manufacturer likewise reported stronger profit and revenue than expected. But drops for Exxon Mobil and other oil-and-gas companies were keeping the market's gains in check. Oil prices tumbled after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia is preparing to abandon its unofficial price target of $100 a barrel for crude as it prepares to increase output.
A big winner of the AI frenzy, Super Micro Computer, was meanwhile giving back some of its huge gains after more than tripling last year. Its stock tumbled 11.5% following a report from the Wall Street Journal saying the Department of Justice is probing the seller of servers and storage systems. Meanwhile, more encouraging news came after a round of reports on Thursday suggested the US economy may be doing better than expected. Fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week in the latest signal that layoffs remain relatively low across the economy. A separate report said the overall US economy grew at a solid 3% annual rate during the spring, as previously estimated.
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