Overview
- U.S. stocks closed at records Thursday, with the S&P 500 at 7,501, the Nasdaq at 26,635, and the Dow at 50,063.
- Nvidia climbed after Reuters reported the U.S. cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy its H200 AI chip, a limited approval that buoyed semiconductor shares.
- Cisco jumped after topping profit and revenue forecasts, raising its outlook, and announcing about 4,000 job cuts as hyperscaler AI orders accelerated.
- Inflation worries intensified as April producer prices posted a large monthly gain and war-driven oil costs stayed high, reinforcing expectations of a longer period of tight Fed policy.
- President Trump met China’s Xi in Beijing, and a U.S. readout said both agreed the Strait of Hormuz should remain open, a potential relief valve for oil prices if progress holds.