US stocks rallied on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbing to fresh record highs as investors piled back into technology shares following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.8%, both setting all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, inching up 14 points.
Intel led the charge, surging 24% after Nvidia announced a $5 billion investment to co-develop data centre and PC products with the chipmaker.
Nvidia shares added 3%, while other tech names, including Broadcom, Palantir, and Tesla, also advanced. AMD slipped 5%.
The rebound came after a choppy session on Wednesday when the Fed delivered a widely expected quarter-point cut.
The Dow closed higher, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended in the red after Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the move as “risk management” and signaled a slower pace of easing than markets had anticipated.
Policymakers project two more cuts this year, but just one in 2026, compared with traders’ expectations for more aggressive action next year.
Even with Wednesday’s volatility, all three indexes are on track for weekly gains.
The S&P 500 is up 0.2% for the week, poised for its sixth positive stretch in seven.
The Nasdaq has risen 0.5%, marking three straight weeks of gains, while the Dow is up 0.4% so far, heading for its second consecutive weekly advance.
Jobless claims drop sharply
US jobless claims fell sharply last week, reversing the previous period’s surge and indicating layoffs remain subdued despite broader signs of cooling in the labour market.
Initial applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 33,000 to 231,000 in the week ended September 13, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was below the median forecast of 240,000 in a Bloomberg survey and close to levels seen for much of this year.
Continuing claims, which track the number of people receiving benefits, fell to 1.92 million.
The decline unwound a spike in the prior week, when claims hit their highest in nearly four years.
That increase coincided with the Labour Day holiday period, which can distort reporting, and was largely concentrated in Texas.
State officials later attributed part of the surge to suspected fraudulent filings.
While the drop suggests employers remain reluctant to shed staff, underlying labour market conditions continue to soften.
Job creation has slowed sharply in recent months, and measures of both labour supply and demand point to a gradual weakening in hiring momentum.
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