Stocks gain for a second day on easing inflation hopes, Nvidia leads Nasdaq higher: Live updates

Stocks rose Thursday, as hope over easing inflation and gains in tech helped Wall Street claw back more of this week’s losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.2%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9% to a new all-time high.

Information technology and communication services stocks led the S&P 500 to that record. Intel was the best performer in the Dow with a gain of more than 3%.

Investor optimism was boosted after the European Central Bank lowered forecasts for annual inflation and growth on Thursday, though the bank also held key interest rates steady. That can be taken as a positive signal on the international inflation front.

The ECB’s announcement comes after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that he expects interest rates to come down this year, while noting that the U.S. central bank was not immediately ready to begin cutting. Powell will speak before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, the second of his two Capitol Hill appearances this week.

“No surprises from Jay Powell on Capitol Hill has certainly been a positive,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley. “The biggest shift that we’ve seen in investor sentiment clearly rests upon the fact that we are OK with the fact that the Fed is likely only going to cut rates three times this year and … may not start until July.”

Thursday’s gains add to Wednesday’s bounce, which marked the first winning day of the week for any of the three major averages. Despite the tough start to the week, the S&P 500 was now up 0.2% this week and on track to surpass Friday’s record close. The Dow and Nasdaq Composite are still down 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively, on the week.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq was helped by a gain of more than 3% in Nvidia, the artificial intelligence darling whose shares have climbed more than 11% this week. Though tech performed well, Apple oscillated around flat in Thursday morning trading, flirting with its seventh straight losing session.

Victoria’s Secret plunged 28% after posting mixed quarterly results and issuing disappointing guidance. On the other hand, U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk popped almost 9% on the back of positive trial results for an obesity treatment.

Shares of New York Community Bancorp rose 6% in volatile trading Thursday morning. The stock tumbled more than 40% during Wednesday’s session, but went on to finish with a 7.5% gain after announcing a $1 billion capital raise.

Investors are awaiting Friday’s U.S. jobs report for insights into the state of the labor market, which has shown resilience despite higher interest rates.