Tech Optimism Lifts S&P 500, Nasdaq Near Records
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite on Thursday closed just below their all-time highs, extending a head-spinning round-trip from the stock-market rout in April.
The Nasdaq added 1% and notched its highest finish since Dec. 16. The technology-heavy index is up 32% from its low point on April 8, following a roughly 21% swoon after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs. The S&P finished 0.8% higher, less than 0.1% shy of its high water mark, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed roughly 404 points, or 0.9%, to 43386.84.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Digital Trends
33 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
NASA just test fired its next-gen SLS lunar rocket booster
NASA has completed the first full-scale static test fire of the Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE) solid rocket motor, the next-generation solid rocket booster for the space agency's SLS (Space Launch System) lunar vehicle. The 140-second test took place at Northrop Grumman's Promontory production and test site in Utah on Thursday and was livestreamed on YouTube. You can watch the rocket blasting at full power via the video player embedded at the top of this page. Using hundreds of sensors to monitor its operation, the test demonstrated the ballistics performance of the BOLE motor design, as well as its nozzle, insulation, and electronic thrust vector control (eTVC) vectoring performance, NASA said. The firing also aimed to validate the use of new domestic materials and manufacturing processes that are geared toward reducing costs by about 25% over previous designs. The BOLE motor burned more than 1.4 million pounds of propellant during the procedure, and generated more than 3.9 million pounds of thrust. As a comparison, SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket generates around 1.7 million pounds of thrust at launch, while SpaceX's mighty Starship vehicle — the most powerful rocket ever built — generates a colossal 16.7 million pounds of thrust as it leaves the launchpad. Thursday's test fire began normally, but about 100 seconds in there appeared to be some kind of explosive event in the plume, possibly involving the exhaust nozzle. However, the booster continued to fire for another 40 seconds without any noticeable difficulty. Northrop Grumman has yet to comment on the cause or implications of the apparent anomaly. Speaking just minutes after the end of the test, Dave Reynolds, NASA SLS booster program manager, said: 'It's a brand new booster from tip to tail, there are so many things that are different about this booster — it actually has very little relationship to the current boosters that are flying on the Artemis II mission that's coming up. 'We were expecting to learn a lot of things, and I guarantee that we're going to spend the next six months digging through all of that data and finding out what we need to do.' The booster is scheduled to fly for the first time — as part of NASA's SLS rocket — in the ninth Artemis mission, which is currently scheduled for 2034 and will involve a crewed landing on the moon. However, the Trump administration wants to cut the Artemis budget, instead prioritizing commercial launch partnerships while redirecting focus to the first crewed Mars mission, at the expense of lunar missions. In other words, there's a chance that this booster will never fly.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Markets eye records, Fed Chair, rate cut odds: Market Takeaways
Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Allie Canal joins Asking for a Trend with Josh Lipton to go over her main takeaways of the trading day: markets continuing to hover near record highs, investor focus on who the next Federal Reserve chair might be, and shifting conviction in the possibility of a Fed rate cut in July. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Asking for a Trend here. US stocks climbing with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing just points away from those record highs and Yahoo finances Alec now joins us now with the trading day takeaways Ali. Josh, we were so close you cheering in the newsroom, we said it's going to happen and we just missed those records there. So all eyes were on the records. We got some, we didn't get others, the biggies we didn't get, like you were just saying just points for the S&P 500 three points, the number that we were watching was 6144, 6141. Same with the Nasdaq composite, we were not too far off of those record highs either and then we did see the Dow Jones Industrial Average close in the green there up about nine tenths of a percent. So we could take some solace in the fact that there's green across the screen. Now if we look at the Nasdaq 100, another record there. We saw a record on Tuesday, so that just continues to build on to those gains, even the equal weight Nasdaq 100 continues to trend upward. And looking under the hood of the Nasdaq, you did have some positive momentum for certain stocks like Nvidia. We saw that record yesterday, have another record today and if you take a look from the April 8th bottom there, you can just see this move upwards to the top nearly 50% and across tech, if we look from that April 8th bottom, you'll really see that there's a lot of momentum for many of these names here. Broadcom, even Tesla, Amazon, the only big one in my view that's in the red here is Apple, struggling a little bit and that has a lot to do with some more uncertainties on the tariff front along with some disappointments around its AI launch. But the fact that we're continuing to see this momentum chasing is an encouraging sign to the Wall Street Bulls. Even from a sector perspective, since those April bottoms you see tech again leading, but also communication services, industrials, consumer discretionary, financials, this really seems to be a broad based rally here. Yeah, I was talking to Schaefer in the newsroom talking about there's that momentum trade. You know, how much are a theme in a trend that's big and just investors are saying, listen, they're going to buy their winners because they just anticipate them to stay winners, you know. And you mentioned, you know, we talk Nvidia today, that AI boom. I mean, there was a question about that whether they would continue Ali, but then we heard from those big tech names they were going to keep spending, spending, spending, the sovereigns are spending and that's worked as well. Yeah, and I've been speaking to strategist all week about the tech boom and whether it continues to have legs and they tell me that it does. That there's a lot of cash on the sidelines. And really these companies with their big balance sheets, they allow investors to be insulated from a lot of these risks. And that really seems to be key here. Investors are just looking past some of these noisier headlines. And then another big headline we got today was who will be the next Fed chair. Now this is based on reporting for both Yahoo Finance and the Wall Street Journal. This is your list here on who Trump is considering. He wants to name someone as early as September. So Fed chair Jerome Powell will continue to be in that position at this time. So perhaps a shadow Fed situation. Scott Bess and Treasury Secretary is reportedly in the running, Kevin Hassett, Chris Waller, that's who the journal reported, but our Jennifer Schonberger said that Trump is no longer considering him since he voted in the last Fed meeting to keep rates on hold and we know that the President wants a very dovish Fed chairman at this point. He wants those rate cuts. We've seen him go against Powell. Whether or not he'll get that this summer, that's the big TBD. Yeah, I mean we know Trump wants them cutting. He wants them cutting right now. He's a real estate developer, Ali. Of course he wants them cutting. It is about Waller because you know, Waller Bowman, we just heard from, they were kind of suggesting, hey, a cut could come next month. And you wonder if they were maybe jockeying for that position, but there's still a lot of unknowns at this point. And when we talk about, you know, a rate cut potentially in July here, markets are certainly still pricing in a September rate cut. You see those odds at 70%. However, when you look at July, it's doubled compared to a week ago. So there might be a bit more conviction that maybe we could see something this summer. We do have PCE inflation data out on Friday. If that continues to trend downward and if perhaps next week for that jobs report, we see, you know, the unemployment rate escalate, we see other labor market cracks, maybe that convinces the Fed to cut. I just think it's a little too early at this point. And Jerome Powell has been very good at telegraphing what he thinks will come next. There's not always a ton of surprises, not to say that we couldn't see a surprise. I just would be a little wary to put money on a July cut at this point. All right, we shall see. Thank you, Ali. Yep.
Forbes
38 minutes ago
- Forbes
The Impact Of Data Infrastructure On Global AI Leadership
NetApp NetApp recently released findings from its 2025 AI Space Race report, a global research initiative designed to benchmark AI readiness across executive leadership and IT teams. The dataset comprises feedback from 800 executives, evenly split between CEOs and IT leaders, from the United States, United Kingdom, China, and India. The research captures a pivotal moment in the adoption of enterprise AI. With generative AI deployments accelerating within the enterprise, the gap between aspiration and execution is becoming increasingly consequential. NetApp's report sheds light on where organizations stand, where internal misalignments persist, and what infrastructure foundations matter most as enterprises transition from pilot projects to production AI systems. The AI Business Imperative A central insight from the survey is that AI success hinges less on vision and more on operational readiness. Across geographies, most organizations, 88%, report themselves as 'mostly or fully ready' for AI, with 81% piloting or scaling AI initiatives. Despite this apparent momentum, the research identified critical gaps between CEO expectations and IT capabilities that threaten to derail these efforts. The study indicates that many organizations lack deep investments in foundational infrastructure, such as secure, scalable data platforms. This can undermine their ability to scale from proof-of-concept to full production deployments effectively. The Global Competitive Landscape When executives were asked which region will lead AI innovation over the next five years, 43% pointed to the United States as the likely winner. Nearly two-thirds of American respondents backed their own country, while Chinese executives showed a similar home-country bias, suggesting that these perceptions may be influenced by nationalistic confidence. Unsurprisingly, China emerges as America's primary challenger for AI dominance, with 43% of Chinese respondents predicting their nation will lead in AI development. This confidence stems from massive infrastructure investments and aggressive scaling strategies. However, the report reveals a critical weakness in China's approach: a dangerous misalignment between CEO ambitions and IT execution capabilities. Even here, a readiness gap exists. While 92% of Chinese CEOs claim their companies have active AI projects, only 74% of their IT leaders agree. This 18-point gap suggests Chinese executives are overcounting their AI progress, creating unrealistic expectations that will limit long-term competitiveness. By contrast, American companies exhibit a much stronger alignment, with CEO and IT assessments matching closely at 77% and 86%, respectively. India and the United Kingdom acknowledge their underdog status, with nearly one-third of executives in both countries reporting additional pressure to compete against the perceived leaders of the United States and China. This recognition drives focused investment strategies that position these markets as potential disruptors in specific AI verticals. The Impact of Data Infrastructure NetApp's research identifies the adoption of an intelligent data infrastructure as a decisive factor separating AI leaders from AI followers. Enterprises need data systems that are accessible, secure, and scalable to generate trusted outcomes from their AI investments. Without this foundation, even the most ambitious AI strategies can fail to deliver results. That's not to say that there's only one correct approach. The report indicates that the deployment of AI infrastructure frequently follows divergent competitive philosophies across various regions. Chinese respondents, for example, prioritize scalability above all else, with 35% ranking it as their top capability, compared to just 24% globally. This reflects a sprint strategy focused on immediate market impact. American, British, and Indian companies, on the other hand, take a different approach, emphasizing integration with existing systems to build sustainable long-term advantages. These strategic differences have real consequences. The survey found that 79% of executives fear their AI initiatives will produce broken models and biased insights due to poor data foundations. Companies that shortcut infrastructure development to accelerate AI deployment often discover their rushed approach creates more problems than solutions. The Data Infrastructure Arms Race The AI infrastructure market is a battlefield where no established technology supplier can afford to fall behind. NetApp chief marketing officer Gabie Boko told me that it's precisely for this reason that NetApp commissions surveys like this one. It's one of the ways it understands the challenges its customers face. NetApp approaches this market with its Intelligent Data Infrastructure, which enables scalable, secure, and operationally efficient AI and data-driven workloads. Unlike legacy storage architectures or ad hoc cloud deployments, NetApp integrates data management, governance, and observability directly into its hybrid cloud platform. The NetApp Intelligent Data Infrastructure supports AI-native patterns, like model training, fine-tuning, and inference, by providing consistent performance, global data access, and real-time visibility across edge, core, and cloud environments. NetApp's approach emphasizes integration over layered complexity across the full spectrum of enterprise data needs, not just AI. It's a strong play. NetApp isn't alone in this market. Dell Technologies, for example, offers its Dell AI Data Platform to support its Dell AI Factory offerings. Dell's solution combines its broad portfolio of storage solutions with Nvidia's AI Data Platform to address enterprise AI challenges. HPE and Pure Storage each take similar, if less opinionated, approaches. Beyond the traditional storage landscape, disruptors like VAST Data and WEKA are also players, taking a more targeted approach to addressing the problem. Innovations like its Augmented Memory Grid and the recently announced NeuralMesh microservices architecture give WEKA a compelling play for reliable, performant, and operational efficient AI infrastructure at scale. WEKA's is an AI-first solution, lacking some of the broader enterprise-focused capabilities found in general-purpose mainstream storage. VAST Data takes things even further, packaging several AI tools together into an opinionated hyper-converged AI stack that it calls the VAST AI OS. This HCAI approach makes VAST less of a direct competitor to the rest of the storage market and more of a competitor to full-stack AI solutions. It should be evaluated as such. The competitive intensity in this market illustrates a broader market reality and reinforces NetApp's findings: AI infrastructure is a critical battleground for long-term customer relationships. Companies that lose this race risk becoming irrelevant as AI becomes central to business operations. Analyst's Take: The Road Ahead NetApp's findings convey a clear message: successful AI implementation requires more than just cutting-edge technology. Organizations must achieve perfect alignment between executive vision and operational execution while building scalable infrastructure foundations. Companies that master this combination will establish lasting competitive advantages. The global nature of AI competition also has an impact, creating complex challenges for multinational organizations. Companies operating across regions must navigate different regulatory environments, talent markets, and customer expectations while maintaining consistent AI capabilities. Success requires adapting strategies to local conditions while preserving global coherence. The report says that 'one of the most significant success factors in the AI Space Race will be data infrastructure and data management, supported by cloud solutions that are agile, secure, and scalable. Successful organizations need an intelligent data infrastructure in place to ensure unfettered AI innovation." It's hard to disagree with that. NetApp's AI Space Race study reinforces its position in the enterprise data infrastructure market. By framing the readiness conversation around organizational alignment and data strategy, NetApp shifts the focus from compute horsepower to the broader challenge of holistically managing the enterprise data lifecycle. It's an approach aligned with current trends across the AI infrastructure ecosystem, where storage, observability, and data orchestration increasingly dictate scalability. NetApp's emphasis on full-stack integration, particularly within multi-cloud environments, differentiates it from infrastructure players that focus purely on on-premises or hyperscaler-native AI stacks. It's a compelling story. Disclosure: Steve McDowell is an industry analyst, and NAND Research is an industry analyst firm, that engages in, or has engaged in, research, analysis and advisory services with many technology companies, including those named in this article: Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NetApp, NVIDIA, Pure Storage, VAST Data, and WEKA. No company mentioned was involved in the writing of this article. Mr. McDowell does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned.
