Closing summary
Blockbuster results from the US chipmaker Nvidia on the back of an AI boom last night have spread cheer in global financial markets. Japan’s traders partied like it was 1989 as the Nikkei hit an all-time closing high, beating the previous record set 34 years ago.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq jumped 2.4% while the S&P 500 rose 1.6% and hit a record high of 5,051.37. Nvidia shares jumped 15%, adding $260bn to its market value and taking it closer to the $2 trillion mark, to $1.92trn. Other chipmakers and technology companies also rose, such as server component supplier Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices and the Cambridge-based firm Arm Holdings.
Share indices in Frankfurt, Paris and Milan have gained more than 1% and Europe’s Stoxx 600 is trading close to an all-time high, hit earlier this morning.
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Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow. Take care! – JK
Updated
US jobless claims fall unexpectedly
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting that job growth remained solid in February.
Jobless claims in the United States fell to 201,000 in the week to 17 February after rising by 212,000 in the previous week, and defied expectations of a rise to 218,000.
The strength in the US labour market supported the Federal Reserve’s view that it’s too early to talk about rate cuts, said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial market analyst at City Index.
