Wall Street soars as tech, AI stocks lead amid easing US-China trade tensions
US stocks closed higher on Thursday, extending their rally with a solid boost from technology shares as investors parsed a mixed bag of corporate earnings and watched for signs of progress in the US-China tariff stand-off.All three major US stock indexes rose, with the "magnificent seven" group of artificial intelligence-related megacaps, boosted by AI-powered software firm ServiceNow's better-than-expected quarterly results, giving the Nasdaq the edge.advertisementBeijing called for cancellation of US tariffs on Chinese goods, following comments from US treasury secretary Scott Bessent signaling the White House could be willing to de-escalate trade tensions that have whipsawed markets for weeks.
Easing tariff rhetoric is "part of the reason why you're seeing the chips lead because they've been kind of in the bull's eye in (the trade dispute) between China and the US," said Paul Nolte, senior wealth advisor & market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest in Elmhurst, Illinois. "So any cooling of tariff talks between the two countries bolsters the technology sector as a whole.""There's still a ton of questions around tariffs right now that we really don't have answers to," Nolte added. "So a lot of us are just kind of throwing darts in the dark."advertisementAccording to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 108.85 points, or 2.02%, to end at 5,484.71 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 452.96 points, or 2.71%, to 17,161.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 483.28 points, or 1.22%, to 40,089.85.As first-quarter earnings season hits full stride, the extent to which trade war uncertainties have affected business and consumer sentiment is making itself known.Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Chipotle Mexican and American Airlines all cut or withdrew forecasts due to elevated uncertainty among consumers.Not all guidance was downbeat.ServiceNow's profit was better than analysts expected due to resilient demand for AI-powered software, sending its shares surging.Hasbro jumped after the toymaker's results beat expectations, helped by the strength of its gaming segment.Of the 157 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported so far, 74% have beaten expectations, and analysts currently believe aggregate S&P 500 earnings growth of 8.9% year-on-year, up from 8.0% as of April 1, according to LSEG.On the data front, stronger-than-expected new orders for durable goods and rangebound jobless claims painted a picture of economic resilience.Also Read: Russia made 'pretty big concession' by not taking all of Ukraine: Trump
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