The S&P 500 rose Thursday thanks to Nvidia, though investors were on edge after President Donald Trump said Canada and Mexico tariffs would go on as planned and an additional tariff would be placed on China. The broad market index traded 0.5% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 68 points higher, or 0.2%. Trump in a post on Truth Social said the proposed tariffs of 25% on Mexico and Canada will take effect on March 4 because the countries had yet to curb the flow of drugs over the border by enough. The president added that an additional 10% tariff on China would be added on top of the 10% levy already in place. Nvidia rose 1% after the chip giant exceeded fourth-quarter estimates on the top and bottom lines, easing some concerns that the AI trade was in trouble. The company issued strong guidance, reflecting continued demand driven by the artificial intelligence race. Other tech shares also gained on Thursday following Nvidia’s strong results. Broadcom and Tesla climbed 2.5% and 1.2%, respectively. “Although revenue growth has decelerated, Nvidia’s 78% YoY increase remains impressive given its scale, underscoring strong demand for AI infrastructure,” said Ido Caspi, research analyst at Global X. “This robust performance should similarly alleviate investor concerns about potential slowdowns stemming from emerging competitors like DeepSeek.” Besides Trump’s tariff declaration, a jump in jobless claims also kept sentiment in check by adding to recent concerns of economic softening. Jobless claims for the week ending Feb. 22 came in at 242,000. This was up 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 225,000, according to a Labor Department report Thursday. This comes on the back of several other recent economic reports — including a softer-than-expected consumer confidence reading, disappointing retail sales numbers and a weak consumer sentiment reading — which have rattled stocks and raised worries about the health of the U.S. economy. Traders are now looking ahead to Friday’s personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. The S&P 500 traded barely above the flatline on Wednesday ending its four-day streak of losses. The 30-stock Dow dropped 188 points, or about 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added nearly 0.3%. With just two trading sessions left in February, all three major averages are on pace to finish lower. The broad market index has dropped 1.4%, while the Dow and the Nasdaq have declined more than 2% each. U.S. Treasury yields were higher on Thursday as investors digested the latest economic data, as well as President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats. The benchmark 10-year yield Treasury yield rose about 5 basis points to 4.298%, and the 2-year Treasury yield was more than 3 basis points higher at 4.107%. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Thursday, after key Wall Street indexes rose amid fresh tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.33% higher to close at 8,268.2. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.3% higher to close at 38,256.17 while the Topix added 0.73% to close at 2,736.25. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.73% to end the trading day at 2,621.75, while the small-cap Kosdaq dipped 0.07% to close at 770.85. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.61% while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.21% to close at 3,968.12. Oil prices rebounded on Thursday as supply concerns resurfaced after U.S. President Donald Trump said tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go into effect on March 4 and he revoked a license granted to U.S. oil major Chevron to operate in Venezuela. Trump’s tariffs against Canada include a 10% levy on imported energy resources. Brent crude oil futures were up $1.20, or 1.65% at $73.73 a barrel by 9:23 a.m. ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose $1.28, or 1.87%, to $69.90. The contracts had settled in the previous session at their lowest since December 10 and both benchmarks have lost about 4.5% this month. Gold prices fell over 1% to their lowest level in more than a week on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar firmed, while investors awaited a key inflation print that could offer clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. Spot gold was down 1% at $2,889.13 an ounce, its lowest since Feb. 17. Prices hit a record peak of $2,956.15 on Monday, driven by safe-haven flows. U.S. gold futures lost nearly 1% to $2,901.50. The dollar index rose 0.2% to move further from the recent 11-week lows, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders.
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