US Stock Market Today: Wall Street soars after blockbuster Nvidia earnings, jobs data; Walmart rallies 5.5%

Wall Street climbed on Thursday after Nvidia released exceptionally strong earnings, which significantly boosted market sentiment towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) equities.

AI chip giant Nvidia, which remains the most valuable company on Wall Street, saw its share price rise nearly 5% after the firm reported a robust quarterly profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates. It also provided a revenue forecast that, once again, easily surpassed market expectations.

In addition, investors were further encouraged by solid September jobs data, which indicated a resilient US economy.

A Labor Department report issued on Thursday showed that recruitment by US employers was stronger in September than economists had anticipated, although the unemployment rate also deteriorated marginally.

In September, the non-farm payrolls rose by 119,000, more than double the estimated 50,000 gain.

As of 10:25 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 shot up by 1.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 2.3% higher.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 428.7 points, or 0.93%, to 46567.51. The S&P 500 rose 95.8 points, or 1.44%, to 6737.93​, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 492.8 points, or 2.18%, to 23057.001.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.11% from 4.13% late on Wednesday.

Key Stock Movers

Walmart shares rallied 5.5% after the retailer reported another standout quarter. It posted strong sales and profits that blew past Wall Street estimates.

Among megacap stocks, Alphabet gained 3.2% and Meta Platforms added 2.1%.

Following Nvidia's stellar results, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom and other chip-related stocks also jumped.

Bullion Market

Gold prices were flat on Thursday, as investors digested a delayed US jobs report.

As of 9:25 AM ET (1425 GMT), spot gold was up 0.1% at $4,083.95 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.1% to $4,083.30 per ounce.

In other metals, spot silver fell 0.7% to $51.02 per ounce, platinum fell 0.2% at $1,543.15 and palladium added 2.2% to $1,410.16.

Crude Oil Market

Crude oil prices edged up on Thursday after falling in the previous session, boosted by a bigger than expected draw in US crude stockpiles and a broader equities rally.

Brent crude futures were up 43 cents, or 0.7%, at $63.94 a barrel by 1400 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 42 cents, or 0.7%, to $59.86.

Both benchmarks rebounded after falls of about 2% in the previous session.