Wall Street hovered slightly higher by midday Thursday, giving up a chunk of strong overnight gains in futures markets that were triggered by a federal court ruling suspending a large portion of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) led the market after reporting a better-than-feared quarter. The artificial intelligence leader showed resilience in the face of export restrictions. Shares rose 4.3%, ranking as the second-best performer on the S&P 500 and climbing to their highest level in more than three months.
By midday:
- The S&P 500 was up 0.3% at 5,900.
- The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.5%.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded flat.
Fresh Economic Data Adds To Mixed Tone
First-quarter U.S. gross domestic product shrank 0.2%, slightly improving from the initial 0.3% estimate. Still, it marked a sharp slowdown compared to the 2.4% growth in the last quarter of 2024, reflecting slower consumer spending and higher imports ahead of the tariffs impact.
More concerning was the labor market. Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 24 jumped to 240,000, exceeding expectations and reaching …