Financial-Markets                      09/18 15:28

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street rolled to more records on Thursday as Nvidia 
and Intel led a rally for technology stocks after announcing a deal that 
includes a $5 billion investment.

   The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and is on track for a third straight winning week. The 
Dow Jones Industrial Average added 124 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 
composite climbed 0.9%. All three set all-time highs.

   Intel soared 22.8% for its best day since 1987 after Nvidia said it would 
buy $5 billion of the chipmaker's stock. It's part of a collaboration where the 
pair will develop products for data centers and personal computers. Nvidia 
climbed 3.5% and was by far the strongest force lifting the S&P 500 because 
it's Wall Street's most valuable company.

   Encouraging reports on the economy sent Treasury yields climbing in the bond 
market, meanwhile, including one that said fewer U.S. workers applied for 
unemployment benefits last week than expected.

   That could indicate the pace of layoffs is slowing, and it was a relief 
after the prior week's data showed a disconcerting leap to a four-year high. 
The job market has slowed so much that the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its 
main interest rate for the first time this year in order to give it some help.

   The Fed also indicated more cuts may be on the way, though Chair Jerome 
Powell warned that the Fed is in a precarious position and may have to change 
course quickly. That's because the economy is in an unusual situation where the 
job market is slowing while inflation is remaining stubbornly high at the same 
time.

   The Fed is in charge of fixing both, but it has only one tool to do so. And 
helping one by moving interest rates often hurts the other in the short term.

   Expectations are high on Wall Street that the Fed will keep cutting interest 
rates, and an unexpected halt could send stocks tumbling. Critics say stock 
prices have already shot too high and become too expensive, in part because of 
heavy bets on continued cuts in rates.

   On Wall Street, smaller stocks led the way. They can be some of the biggest 
beneficiaries of easier interest rates, and the Russell 2000 index of small 
stocks rallied 2.5% to join its bigger rivals in setting all-time highs. It 
topped its prior record, which was set in 2021.

   Stocks in the cryptocurrency industry jumped to strong gains, including 
rises of 7% for Coinbase Global, 20.7% for Bullish and 7.2% for Circle Internet 
Group. Bitcoin climbed above $117,500 following the Fed's cut to interest rates.

   Novo Nordisk saw its stock that trades in the United States rise 6.3% after 
the Danish company said a newly published study showed its once-a-day pill 
version of Wegovy helped people lose significant weight. It also said that its 
Ozempic product reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke and death for patients 
versus another treatment for some people with type 2 diabetes.

   On the losing end of Wall Street, the company behind Olive Garden and other 
restaurant chains sank 7.7% after it reported a profit for the latest quarter 
that was below analysts' expectations. Darden Restaurants also raised its 
forecast for revenue growth this fiscal year, but not by much more than 
analysts expected.

   Live Nation fell 2.8% after the Federal Trade Commission and a group of 
state attorneys general sued its Ticketmaster business, accusing it of forcing 
fans to pay more to see live events through a variety of illegal tactics.

   The Walt Disney Co. slipped 1.1% after the entertainment giant announced 
that its ABC television division had suspended Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show 
indefinitely after comments that he made about Charlie Kirk's killing led a 
group of ABC-affiliated stations to say they would not air the show.

   Earlier in the day, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called Kimmel's comments 
"truly sick" and said his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and 
Disney accountable for spreading misinformation.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 31.61 points to 6,631.96. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average added 124.10 to 46,142.42, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 
209.40 to 22,470.73.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a mixed 
performance in Asia.

   London's FTSE 100 added 0.2% after the Bank of England held its main 
interest rate steady.

   South Korea's Kospi rallied 1.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4% for 
two of the world's bigger moves.

   In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.11% from 
4.06% late Wednesday. It's a notable move after it had briefly dropped below 4% 
on Wednesday, weighed down by expectations for continued cuts to interest rates 
by the Fed.

   ___

   AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

   ---------

   itemid:d3500c7d6ada95757fa9872c77d4c34a