US equities surged higher in their final session of the week, bolstered by hopes of peace talks between the United States and Iran, and renewed optimism in the artificial intelligence (AI) trade. Both the US and Iran are reportedly sending envoys to Pakistan, with officials seeking to mediate a resolution to ongoing tensions. At the closing bell in New York, the S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent to 7165.08, spearheaded by the information technology sector. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.6 per cent to 24,836.60, marking a strong close to the trading week.
The technology sector was a significant driver, with chipmaker Intel leaping 23.6 per cent after delivering a sales forecast that exceeded Wall Street expectations. Intel designs and manufactures microprocessors and other computer components. Nvidia also saw a 4.3 per cent increase, retaking the $US5 trillion ($7 trillion) market value. Australian-founded software company Atlassian, which provides collaboration and productivity tools, gained 5.8 per cent to $US71.55. Furthermore, Google announced a substantial $US10 billion investment in AI company Anthropic, with a potential additional $US30 billion, strengthening their partnership in the AI race. Anthropic develops advanced AI models, including large language models.
Investors were also buoyed by news that the US Department of Justice was dropping its criminal probe of the Federal Reserve, easing pressure on chairman Jerome Powell. This development could pave the way for his successor, Kevin Warsh, to take charge in mid-May. Upcoming earnings reports from tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, and Atlassian are highly anticipated. Locally, attention is turning to Australia’s March and first-quarter consumer price index figures, with National Australia Bank forecasting Q1 trimmed mean inflation of 0.9 per cent quarter-over-quarter and 3.5 per cent year-over-year. Five major central banks are also set to meet next week, with all expected to maintain current interest rates.
