Stocks rise, oil climbs as markets digest Nvidia results, Russia-Ukraine conflict

NEW YORK :An index of global stocks edged higher in choppy trading on Thursday as markets digested lackluster revenue forecasts from artificial-intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, while oil prices climbed amid rising tension from the Russia-Ukraine war.
Shares of Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company and a major contributor to the gains this year in the benchmark S&P 500, hit a record high early in the session before reversing direction and declining about 1 per cent. The chipmaker forecast its slowest revenue growth in seven quarters on Wednesday.
“(Nvidia’s) results are still good but I think the disappointment came from maybe not quite as much of an upward guide on the Q4 number for the top line,” said Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers in Boston.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were lifted by energy, industrials and consumer staples stocks. Communication services stocks were the biggest drag on the Nasdaq, driven by losses in Alphabet, which is down about 6 per cent. U.S. prosecutors argued on Wednesday that Alphabet must divest its popular Chrome browser to end Google’s search monopoly.
The Dow rose 0.84 per cent to 43,774.53, the S&P 500 gained 0.24 per cent to 5,931.60 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.40 per cent to 18,890.59.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe was up 0.14 per cent to 849 after losing ground early in the session. European shares were up 0.37 per cent.
“The market seems to be looking for a narrative right now and is in a little bit of a void for any news that can shape the direction of things,” Melson added.
Bitcoin soared and is closing in on the $100,000 milestone. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has benefited from expectations that the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump will be crypto-friendly. Bitcoin gained 2.52 per cent to $96,818.00. Ethereum rose 7.33 per cent to $3,306.40.
Markets are also eyeing Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, who will play a key role in implementing his agenda of tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation.
The dollar rose in choppy trading as investors assessed declining weekly jobless claims, suggesting labor-market strength, and comments from two Federal Reserve governors on the path of interest rates.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.63 per cent to 154.45 but it strengthened 0.15 per cent to 0.885 against the Swiss franc.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,rose 0.22 per cent to 106.84, with the euro down 0.42 per cent at $1.05.
Oil prices rose more than 1 per cent after Russia and Ukraine exchanged missiles, raising crude-supply concerns. Brent crude futures rose 1.72 per cent to $74.06. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rallied 1.86 per cent to $70.04.
Spot gold rose, on track for the fourth-consecutive session of gains after hitting a more than one-week high. Spot gold rose 0.73 per cent to $2,669.18 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.61 per cent to $2,664.30 an ounce.