U.S. shares were set to drift higher today as investors digested a blowout profit report from Nvidia and mixed reports on the United States economy, the Associated Press reports.
The Dow Jones was up 0.2% at 34,220.00, while the S&P 500 futures were up 0.1% at 4,391.50.
High on regional investors’ minds is Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, scheduled for later in the day. He will be speaking at an event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which has been the site of major policy announcements by the Fed.
Reports on the U.S. economy were mixed. One showed fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week; another said orders for long-lasting manufactured goods slumped by more last month than economists expected.
For now, weaker-than-expected reports on the economy may be more welcome in financial markets. The economy has managed to avoid a long-predicted recession, but the fear is that it’s so solid that it will keep upward pressure on inflation.
Nvidia, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks, released a stronger-than-expected profit report, which raised hopes that this year’s frenzy on Wall Street around artificial intelligence technology isn’t just hype.
Nvidia first stunned the market three months ago when it said the quick adoption of AI would send its revenue soaring in the three months through July. Its sales came in even better than forecast, at $12.51 billion, and the company gave a forecast for the current quarter that again blew past Wall Street’s expectations.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude jumped $1.05 to $80.10 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.17 to $84.53 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 146.10 Japanese yen from 145.81 yen.
