Stocks Touch Record as Nvidia Gains on AI Licensing Deal
US stocks advanced toward a fresh record high in thin holiday trading, as yields on 10-year Treasuries slipped and investors shifted attention toward commodities. Nvidia Corp. climbed as analysts viewed a licensing deal with artificial intelligence startup Groq positively.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were both trading 0.2% higher at 9:40 a.m. in New York. Among S&P 500 sectors, materials and tech led gains, while consumer staples and utilities retreated.
Optimism remains anchored to seasonal patterns. Equity bulls are increasingly focused on a so-called Santa Claus Rally — the stretch covering the final trading sessions of the year and the first two of January — as a potential catalyst for further gains, even as enthusiasm around AI and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate outlook comes under greater scrutiny.
Precious metals surged to fresh records, extending a powerful year-end rally fueled by rising geopolitical tensions and a softer US dollar. Gold, silver and platinum all climbed to all-time highs, lifting shares of miners including Coeur Mining Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Spot gold rose 0.95%; earlier, the yellow metal peaked above $4,530 an ounce.
Oil advanced toward the biggest weekly gain since October as traders weighed supply risks. Markets tracked reports of a partial US blockade of crude shipments from Venezuela, alongside a military strike by Washington targeting a terrorist group in Nigeria.
The S&P 500 was up nearly 18% year to date through Dec. 24, marking a third straight year of double-digit gains. Wall Street strategists largely expect the advance to continue, with the average forecast for the index standing at 7,464 by the end of next year, implying upside of about 7.7%, Bloomberg data show.
Confidence has also been returning around the outlook for corporate profits, particularly after earlier worries that valuations in technology stocks had raced too far ahead amid the AI boom. Investors are increasingly betting that companies will deliver the earnings growth needed to justify prices in 2026.
Source : Bloomberg.com
