Source : THE AGE NEWS
Gains in big technology stocks and easing bond yields helped lift Wall Street even as oil prices ticked higher amid an escalation in the US war with Iran.
The S&P 500 was up 1.1 per cent. The Dow Jones added 631 points, or 1.2 per cent, in mid-afternoon trade. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.5 per cent. The indexes are coming off their first gain after a three-day slide.
The Australian sharemarket is set for gains, with futures at 4.55am AEST pointing to a gain of 27 points, or 0.3 per cent, at the open. The ASX added 0.5 per cent on Thursday to snap a three-session losing streak. The Australian dollar is stronger at US72.05¢.
Gains in big technology and communication services stocks led Wall Street higher. Their large market values tend to give them more influence over the broader market’s direction.
Microsoft rose 2.8 per cent, Apple gained 0.7 per cent and Meta climbed 3.6 per cent.
Giant chip maker Nvidia, whose high-end chips have emerged as AI’s best building blocks, rose 2.2 per cent after saying it would buy the artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face for $US13 billion ($18 billion).
Markets rose in Europe, but ended mixed in Asia.
Oil prices ticked higher as the six-month long US war with Iran intensified.
Iran fired at Kuwait on Thursday in retaliation for US bombardments earlier in the week. The fighting between the US and Iran heated up after the US hit Iranian rocket launchers Sunday on an island in the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran was planning to use them to send mines into the waterway.
The renewed fighting has sent US crude prices sharply higher this week, though the momentum cooled Thursday. After rising in the early going, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, was down 0.1 per cent to $US95.55 per barrel. Benchmark US crude rose 0.5 per cent to $US91.51 a barrel.
Rising oil prices have added to existing inflationary pressures and exacerbated a bond-market sell-off earlier this week.
But bond yields have shown signs of stabilising.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, dropped to 4.76 per cent from 4.79 per cent late on Wednesday. It has been rising steadily throughout the year and was as low as 4.20 per cent at the beginning of 2026.
The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve moves on interest rates, slid to 4.33 per cent from 4.39 per cent. It remains significantly higher for the year, though, and was as low as 3.50 per cent at the beginning of 2026.
Traders had their eye on several companies following their latest quarterly snapshots.
Snowflake jumped 20.4 per cent after its quarterly profit and revenue blew past analysts’ estimates. The company noted that artificial intelligence continues to be a strong driver for its business.
Other tech companies echoed the theme of strength in AI-related demand, but that wasn’t enough to send their stocks higher.
Broadcom’s results beat Wall Street’s estimates and the chipmaker forecast that its AI chip revenue would double in its fiscal year that ends in 2028. But its stock fell 3.6 per cent after its revenue outlook fell short of expectations.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise also raised its guidance for cloud and AI demand strength as it reported quarterly results that topped analysts’ estimates. But the company’s shares slid 3.5 per cent on worries about supply constraints and other concerns.
Elsewhere in the market, Tyson Foods fell 7.4 per cent after the meat company lowered its guidance for revenue and operating income for its fiscal year, citing margin compression due to volatile cattle prices amid a severe US cattle shortage.
And Victoria’s Secret slumped 14.5 per cent after its latest quarterly earnings beat Wall Street estimates, but its revenue fell short of expectations.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported Thursday that more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs are still rare and jobless claims remain at historically low levels.
On Friday, the crucial US employment report for August is released. The previous report for July showed that the jobs market stalled, with employers cutting positions.
Both inflation and the jobs market have been key focuses for Wall Street and the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is trying to balance its tasks of supporting employment and taming inflation. Wall Street expects the central bank to raise interest rates before the year ends in an effort to cool inflation, which remains well above 3 per cent. The Fed has a stated goal of cooling inflation to a target of 2 per cent.
The government will release August inflation figures September 11, shortly before the Fed’s policymaking committee’s next meeting, which ends on September 16.
