Closing Bell: Stocks Rise, Lifted by Nvidia Earnings and Technology Strength

U.S. stocks advanced Thursday as blockbuster Nvidia (NVDA) results lifted technology shares, though higher oil prices dampened some of the euphoria.

The U.S. benchmark WTI oil futures were up roughly 1.6% to near $83.52 per barrel Thursday. That keeps inflation and interest-rate concerns top of mind for traders and investors as they anticipate words from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, who is slated to speak Friday morning at the Fed's 2026 Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.

The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 0.72%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJI) added 0.2%. The small-cap Russell 2000 was up 0.28%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 (NDX) gained 1.43% with Nvidia (NVDA) (+8.7%), Broadcom (AVGO) (+4.49%), Microsoft (MSFT) (+1.75%), and Apple (AAPL) (+0.36%) contributing to the upside.

Despite overall market gains, all S&P 500 sectors were in the red Thursday except Information Technology, which rose 3.4%. Software joined the rally after Salesforce (CRM) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) posted strong results. The PHLX Semiconductor Index rose 2.3% Thursday.

Three things to know from Thursday's market:

Nvidia (NVDA) shares rallied 8.7% after a strong earnings report including projections for 70% revenue growth in fiscal 2028, well above estimates of 45%. Nvidia reported adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share, topping the $2.09 expected by analysts, while quarterly revenue reached $96.2 billion versus expectations of $91.85 billion. The chipmaker projected third-quarter revenue of approximately $108 billion, assuming no data-center computing revenue from China, and management described the global AI infrastructure buildout as operating at “full steam.” See Schwab Network Technology coverage for many interviews on Nvidia results, artificial intelligence and other tech companies reporting results.

CrowdStrike shares surged 20.5% following the cybersecurity company reported better-than-expected earnings, fueled by what CEO George Kurtz called a "Mythos moment" in AI security. CrowdStrike added record net new annual recurring revenue (ARR), which measures subscription services growth, of $333 million, up 51% year over year. This brought total ARR to $5.84 billion, up 25%. On the earnings call, Kurtz underscored the magnitude of the shift, saying that "every enterprise will run on AI, and securing it is the largest market opportunity in our history."  See Shay Boloor on CRWD, OKTA Earnings Surge & 'SaaSapolooza' Security Needs

Salesforce shares jumped 22.6% after the company reported strong fiscal Q2 2027 earnings report that beat profit expectations and raised full-year guidance. It also raised its yearly outlook and announced a new plugin system with Anthropic to bring Claude AI tools directly into Salesforce workflows. See CRM Using Claude: Will Anthropic 'Claudeforce' Partnership Back Earnings Growth?

Angrej Singh and Tom White contributed to this report

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