FX.co ★ S&P and Nasdaq Up, Intel Soars

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday, with significant movements observed in the key indices. The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.8%. In contrast, the Dow Jones remained relatively unchanged as investors assessed the implications of the Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut of the year, alongside encouraging jobless claims data. The Fed hinted at the prospect of a further 50 basis points cut within this year, along with an additional 25 basis points reduction in 2026. The market experienced fluctuations following this announcement and during Chair Powell's press conference, where he described the reduction as a "risk management" strategy, while noting that no path is devoid of risks. Concurrently, initial jobless claims showed a significant drop to 231,000, which is lower than expected and alleviates some of the worries regarding labor market fragility. In corporate developments, Nvidia's stock saw an increase of over 2%, and Intel shares surged by nearly 24% following Nvidia's announcement of a $5 billion investment for a minority stake in Intel. Meta's shares rose by 0.7%.