Tech Stocks Rally as Nvidia and Salesforce Report Strong Earnings

On Thursday, Wall Street experienced a mixed day as technology stocks led the way higher after several big names reported stronger profits than expected. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and pulled closer to its all-time high set earlier this month. Nvidia was the strongest performer, with its stock climbing 8.7% after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter.

Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang said 'AI has reached its inflection point,' suggesting that demand remains strong for AI chips. This helped calm some worries around AI stocks, which have been under pressure recently. Salesforce also reported a strong quarter, with its stock jumping 22.6% after the company said it was seeing incredible demand for its AI and data products.

However, not all companies fared well. HP sank 2.9% despite topping analysts' expectations for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. Best Buy fell 4.4% even though it also beat expectations. The mixed performance of big U.S. companies was reflected in the majority of stocks within the S&P 500 falling.