Stock market today: Dow closes slightly lower as energy, Intel slump weigh

Investing.com -- The Dow cut losses to close just below the flatline Thursday, as an Nvidia-led surge in tech was kept in check by a slump in energy and chipmaker Intel.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, or 35 points, the Nasdaq gained 1.7%, and the S&P 500 was up 0.9%.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) surged 25%, taking its market cap to $939.29 billion and within touching distance of $1.000 trillion, after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results and guidance that markedly topped Wall Street estimates.

The chipmaker said it expected second-quarter revenue of about $11.00B, well above analyst expectations of $7.00B, as the growing need for Artificial Intelligence bolsters the outlook for chip demand in its data center business.

“[O]ur expectations for NVDA's future revenues are lifting substantially with our revised FY2026 forecast now estimating $67B in sales (up nearly 50% from our prior outlook for $45B),” Wedbush said in a note after upgrading its rating on the stock to Outperform from Neutral, with a price target of $490, up from $290.

The record surge in Nvidia led Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR), which provides power management solutions for some of Nvidia’s chips, up 16%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) were also up sharply.

But Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), a major dow component failed to join the rally and ended the day 5% lower as investors appear to be ditching traditional computer chip makers like Intel in favor of graphics processing units, or GPU, makers such as Nvidia and AMD.

A slump in energy, paced by declines in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), also kept upside in the broader market in check.

Sentiment on stocks was boosted by updates from President Joe Biden and Republican Kevin McCarthy that suggest lawmakers are nearing a deal to raise the debt ceiling needed to avoid a U.S. default.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously warned the U.S. could default on its debt repayments as soon as June 1. Ahead of the so-called X-date, or the day the U.S. won’t be able to pay its bills, credit rating agency Fitch put the U.S. creditworthiness on watch amid worries about a potential default.

On the earnings front, retailers were in focus as Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) and Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) reported quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street estimates.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR), however, fell 12% after its second-quarter earnings missed Wall Street estimates as falling margins weighed on the bottom line.

Year-on-year gross margin declined by 343 basis points, driven by “lower initial mark-on, a mix shift toward consumables, and higher shrink, partially offset by lower freight costs,” Goldman Sachs said in a note.

On the economic front, an upward revision to U.S. economic growth in Q1 and fewer than expected weekly initial jobless claims pointing to a stronger economy dented expectations for a rate pause next month.

Following the data, the odds of a June hike climbed to 50% from 28% the prior day, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.

In other news, DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) climbed 7% as the company reportedly is in talks with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to sell wireless phone plan services via the e-commerce platform, the Wall Street Journal reported.