US stocks climbed on July 9 as investors shifted their attention to artificial intelligence prospects, brushing aside fresh US-Iran hostilities. The S&P 500 added 0.66% while the Nasdaq led with a 0.90% gain.
Wall Street pushed higher despite escalating conflict in the Middle East, with traders focused on the technology sector rather than geopolitics. The S&P 500 rose 0.66% to 7,531.80, gaining 49.09 points. The Dow Jones added 0.35% to 52,533.75, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.90% to 26,102.75.
Tech leads as AI draws the focus
Technology stocks drove the advance, and the smaller-cap Russell 2000 rose 1.18% to 2,991.26. Much of the attention centred on SK Hynix, the South Korean memory chip maker pricing its US Nasdaq listing on Thursday. Demand ran at seven times the shares available, and the stock debuts Friday.
Chip names moved unevenly ahead of the listing. Intel gained 2.67% to 113.18, while Nvidia slipped 0.93% to 202.23.
Markets shrug off Iran escalation
The gains came even as US-Iran tensions sharpened. The US launched airstrikes on 90 Iranian targets, and Iran retaliated against US-allied sites in the Middle East. Oil prices rose modestly on Thursday morning, extending Wednesday's gains, and markets largely shrugged off the escalation.
Economic signals stayed mixed. Weekly jobless claims showed little change from the previous week. PepsiCo reported revenue that topped expectations, though the results pointed to American consumers tightening their spending on economic worries, and PepsiCo fell 3.35% to 137.72.
Source: Yahoo Finance
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