US stocks were higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average once again crossing 50,000 points after strong results from Cisco Systems and a key meeting between the US and China.
The 30-share index rose by 372 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%. The two reached new all-time highs within the day.
Cisco shares rose 12% after the software giant reported third-quarter results and guidance that beat Wall Street expectations and announced it would cut nearly 4,000 jobs.
“It’s hard to ignore the strong earnings growth story,” William Merz, head of capital markets research at US Bank Asset Management, told CNBC. He said corporate fundamentals are “extraordinarily strong,” especially for large-cap U.S. firms.
Cisco’s rise gave the Dow a boost, sending it up 50,000 points during trading. The Dow Jones also got a boost from Nvidia, rising more than 4% after Reuters reported that the US had approved about 10 Chinese companies to buy Nvidia’s H200 chip, although no shipments have yet been made, SEEbiz reports.
Cisco and Nvidia, as well as Amazon, have supported the Dow Jones’ comeback – Cisco is up 46% over the past two months, while Amazon and Nvidia have gained 28% and 30%, respectively. The rise in the index comes despite continued conflict in the Middle East, which keeps inflation fears high among investors as oil prices remain elevated.
Iran was a major topic of discussion during a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, with the two sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open, according to a White House official.
