In an attempt to rebound from the previous day’s downturn, stocks climbed on Thursday morning. The market had been shaken when Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh conveyed a firm anti-inflation message, dashing investors’ hopes for potential interest rate cuts.
By around 10:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 256 points, translating to a 0.5% rise. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also saw increases of 1% and 1.3%, respectively.
Intel emerged as a standout performer, with its shares skyrocketing by 7.1%. This surge followed President Trump’s announcement that the tech company will collaborate with Apple to develop and produce chips domestically.
Based in Santa Clara, California, Intel’s stock has experienced a fourfold increase since the U.S. government acquired a 10% interest in the renowned chipmaker last August.
The ripple effect of Trump’s announcement also benefited other semiconductor companies, as Nvidia and Micron Technology saw their shares rise by 2.2% and 7.4%, respectively.
Due to soaring demand from power-hungry data centers, prices for chips have been on the rise — making investors eager for an influx of American chips.
Apple is planning to raise prices on its products to offset the surging costs, the company’s CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal.
Shares in SpaceX fell 6.8% Thursday in its fifth day of trading following a record-breaking IPO.
Elon Musk’s rocket, AI and satellite firm still boasted a $2.37 trillion market cap, making it the sixth-most valuable company in the US. Earlier in the week, it briefly surpassed Amazon and Microsoft.
Wall Street suffered losses Wednesday after Warsh’s first meeting as Fed chairman, where he came off as surprisingly tough on inflation – and central bankers flipped from an “easing bias” to an outlook that included interest-rate hikes.
“Yesterday’s meeting came across as hawkish, which surprised markets but shouldn’t have,” Christian Hoffman, head of fixed income at Thornburg Investment Management, said in a note Thursday.
“It’s basic game theory: a new Fed Chair has to establish credibility early. If Chair Warsh doesn’t pick a fight with inflation at the outset, it’s extremely hard to rebuild credibility later.”
Warsh, who has argued for years that the Fed says too much, was notably absent from the central bank’s “dot plot” projections, which estimate interest-rate moves over the coming years. He also abstained from all of the Fed’s forward guidance.
The other Fed members hiked their inflation projections for the year, saying they believe it will hit 3.6% by the end of 2026 – up from a forecast of 2.7% in March.
The Fed also drastically reduced its expectations for cuts in 2026 – with a median outlook of one quarter-point hike. After its meeting in March, the Fed had expected a median of one quarter-point cut this year.
Nine of 19 officials saw at least one rate hike by the end of the year – up from just one member in March.