Wall Street ends higher as Nvidia sparks rush for AI stocks

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Thursday after a blowout forecast from Nvidia sent the chipmaker's stock soaring and fueled a rally in AI-related companies, while investors watched for signs of progress in U.S. debt ceiling talks.
$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ soared 24% to a record high close after the world's most valuable chipmaker forecast quarterly revenue 50% higher than estimates and said it was ramping up supply to meet demand for its artificial-intelligence (AI) chips.
Investors exchanged almost $60 billion worth of Nvidia's shares, accounting for a fifth of all trading in S&P 500 stocks during the session, according to Refintiv data.
Heavyweight AI players $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ and $Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ rose 3.9% and 2.1%, respectively.
$Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$ jumped about 11%, Micron Technology Inc added 4.6% and $Broadcom (AVGO.US)$ climbed more than 7%.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index soared 6.8% to its highest level in more than a year in its biggest daily percentage rise since November.
$Intel (INTC.US)$ , which investors view as lagging in the AI race, dropped 5.5%, weighing on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Wall Street has been jittery in recent days about dragging negotiations in Washington to raise the nation's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid a default.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican lawmaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday were edging close to a deal, with the parties just $70 billion apart on discretionary spending, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the talks.
Reflecting market uncertainty, two-year yields hit their highest since March after ratings agencies Fitch and DBRS Morningstar put the United States on a credit watch for a possible downgrade.
Meanwhile, data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose only moderately last week, while a Commerce Department report confirmed economic growth slowed in the first quarter.
The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ climbed 0.88% to end the session at 4,151.28 points.The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ surged 1.71% to 12,698.09 points, while the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ declined 0.11% to 32,764.65 points.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 10.8 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 10.5 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
The S&P 500 is now up about 8% so far in 2023 and the Nasdaq has recovered over 30% from its losses last year.
$Ralph Lauren (RL.US)$ rallied 5.3% after the luxury retailer beat profit estimates.
Electronics retailer $Best Buy (BBY.US)$ c rose 3.1% following upbeat quarterly earnings, while discount store chain $Dollar Tree (DLTR.US)$ tumbled after cutting its annual profit outlook.