Wall Street Surges as Nvidia and Intel Strike Billion-Dollar Deal

Wall Street is on the brink of achieving new record highs, primarily driven by a significant rally in tech stocks following a USD 5 billion partnership announcement between Nvidia and Intel. Early Thursday trading saw the S&P 500 rise by 0.4 per cent, nearing its record high set earlier this week. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq by 0.8 per cent.

This positive trend was fueled by Nvidia's decision to purchase USD 5 billion worth of Intel stock as part of a collaborative effort to enhance products for data centers and personal computers. The deal sent Intel shares soaring by more than 28 per cent, while Nvidia's own shares increased by 2.6 per cent. However, not all companies shared in the upswing. Cracker Barrel experienced an 8.2 per cent drop after announcing its projections for lower sales and weaker customer traffic in the coming year, attributed to controversy over a planned logo change.

The Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut in nine months also played a pivotal role, setting market expectations for further reductions within the year. While this initially sparked market gains, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's cautionary comments on future economic projections tempered investor enthusiasm. Global markets responded variably, with European indices showing promise and mixed results observed across Asian markets. The persistent inflation rate and slow job market pose ongoing challenges for the Federal Reserve.

(With inputs from agencies.)