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Stocks were higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average retaking 50,000 after strong earnings from Cisco Systems and following a key meeting between U.S. and China.
The 30-stock index zoomed 284.99 points to begin Thursday at 49,978.19.
The S&P 500 climbed 29.02 points to 7,473.27.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ rocketed 78.51 points to 26,480.85.
Shares of Cisco surged 15% after the software giant posted third-quarter results and guidance that beat Wall Street’s expectations and announced it would be cutting almost 4,000 jobs.
Cisco’s gain gave the Dow a boost, putting it on track to reclaim the 50,000 level it reached earlier this year.
The Dow also got a lift from Boeing, which rose 1% as expectations grew that the summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could yield some deals for U.S. companies.
Nvidia also advanced more than 2% after Reuters reported that the U.S. has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to purchase Nvidia’s H200 chip, though no deliveries have been made yet.
Cisco and Nvidia, as well as Amazon, have supported the Dow’s comeback — Cisco and Amazon have risen 30% in the past two months, while Nvidia has gained 25%. The run-up for the index comes even as the conflict in the Middle East persists, keeping inflationary fears among investors heightened as oil prices remain elevated.
Iran was a major topic of discussion during the summit between Trump and Xi Thursday, with the two sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open, per a White House official.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury strengthened slightly, dropping yields to 4.45% from Wednesday’s 4.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 22 cents to $100.80 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $17.60 to $4,689.1.70 U.S. an ounce.
