US STOCKS closed in mixed territory on Thursday (Oct 17), with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite once more buoyed by renewed interest in chipmakers and designers such as Nvidia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 per cent to end at a new record of 43,239.05, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index lost less than 0.02 per cent to close at 5,841.47.
Meantime, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose less than 0.04 per cent to close at 18,373.61, as chip design titan Nvidia saw its share price rise 0.9 per cent on the back of a 9.8 per cent rise in chipmaker TSMC’s shares on strong third-quarter results.
Traders were also digesting fresh data published on Thursday showing an acceleration in retail sales last month, and another interest rate cut from the European Central Bank.
Mill Street Research chief strategist Sam Burns said that the positive economic news in the US, and rate cut in Europe, had helped stocks to return to near all-time highs.
“Earnings reports so far have been pretty good and there doesn’t seem to be too much concern, at least so far, about the election and things like that,” he said.
Among other firms, streaming giant Netflix’s shares rose in after-hours trading after it announced it had topped earnings expectations in the third quarter. AFP
