US stocks are drifting around their records following the latest signals that the US economy continues to hum.
The 2.9 per cent rise for Nvidia was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500, and it was a sharp turnaround from earlier in the week when a warning from a major Dutch supplier to the chip industry, ASML, sent stocks sinking across the industry. Because Nvidia and other tech stocks have grown so big, their movements pack extra weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes.
Critics, meanwhile, warn that stock prices look too expensive given how much faster they’ve climbed than profits for companies. On Wall Street, insurer Travelers was another winner and rose 7.9 per cent after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Higher income made from its investments and elsewhere helped cover greater losses due to Hurricane Helene and severe wind and hail storms in multiple states.