The Nasdaq Composite reached new highs Thursday, climbing 1.57 percent to 26,541.35—its best day since Aug. 4—as Nvidia's blowout guidance ignited a rally across technology equities.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.72 percent to 7,730.99, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 105.56 points, or 0.2 percent, to 53,569.44. Information technology was the sole positive S&P 500 sector, pacing for a 3 percent gain.
Nvidia shares jumped 8.7 percent after the chipmaker forecast revenue growth of 70 percent in fiscal 2028—substantially exceeding the 44 percent consensus from LSEG-surveyed analysts. The company's second-quarter revenue more than doubled.
Semiconductor peers rallied in tandem: Broadcom added 4.5 percent, SK Hynix rose 2 percent, and Intel climbed 4 percent. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) increased 3 percent.
Melissa Brown, global head of investment decision research at SimCorp, said the robust outlook eases a structural concern dogging hyperscalers. "There's been a lot of talk lately about the circular financing for all these hyperscalers and whether revenues will be able to actually cover the huge costs that they're incurring. Maybe this holds off that discussion for a little while."
Software stocks capitalized on the momentum. Salesforce soared more than 22 percent after second-quarter revenue beat Wall Street's forecast. Adobe and Autodesk gained 5.7 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively.
Cybersecurity stocks delivered the day's most explosive moves, buoyed by demand tied to agentic AI: Okta surged more than 28 percent, CrowdStrike jumped 20.5 percent, and Palo Alto Networks rose almost 13 percent. All three beat analyst expectations and raised full-year guidance.
Brown cautioned that the concentration of gains in AI-linked equities poses a hidden risk. Low correlation between mega-cap AI plays and the broader market is suppressing overall volatility, she said, "but that's keeping overall volatility low"—a dynamic that could lull investors into complacency if the trade unwinds.
