Dow Jumps 422 Points As Nvidia's $12.9 Billion Hugging Face Deal Lifts Wall Street Sentiment

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks climbed sharply Thursday morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 422.37 points, or 0.80%, to 53,484.32 as of 9:59 a.m. ET, extending Wall Street's recovery from a bruising start to the week amid easing bond yields and news of a major acquisition by chip giant Nvidia.

The S&P 500 gained 0.57% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.64%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 outperformed both benchmarks, jumping 1.13%. The broad-based rally came as markets searched for further gains following three consecutive days of declines earlier in the week, with investors also looking ahead to Friday's closely watched U.S. labor market report for additional clues on the economy's trajectory.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield eased to around 4.75%, pulling back after touching its highest level since November 2023 on Wednesday. The retreat in yields followed comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who said he would be "inclined to support" holding interest rates steady if upcoming inflation data continue showing signs of improvement, according to remarks reported by CNBC. The comments offered some relief to markets that had been rattled in recent sessions by concerns over a more aggressive Fed tightening path.

Thursday's gains built on a rebound that began Wednesday, when the Dow rose 295.07 points, or 0.56%, to close at 53,061.95, snapping a three-day losing streak alongside the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Nvidia led Wednesday's advance, rallying more than 3%, while American Express and Walt Disney also posted solid gains. Honeywell International was the session's biggest Dow decliner, falling nearly 2%, with 3M and Microsoft also finishing lower.

Adding to Thursday's positive momentum was news that Nvidia has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence model platform Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, according to a report from the Financial Times, marking the latest move by the $5.4 trillion chip company to deepen its footprint across the AI industry. Nvidia shares rose 0.55% to $225.64 following the report. Hugging Face, which serves as a widely used repository for millions of AI models and datasets and has positioned itself as a leading champion of open AI systems, had previously turned down a $500 million investment from Nvidia last year that would have valued the company at $7 billion, opting instead to maintain its independence.

Oil prices, which have been a significant driver of market volatility in recent sessions amid the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, steadied somewhat Thursday after a three-day rally. West Texas Intermediate crude traded near $91 a barrel, having surged roughly 9% over the preceding three trading sessions, while Brent crude settled below $96 on Wednesday after climbing as high as $95.63 that same session.

President Donald Trump commented on the trajectory of the renewed U.S. military campaign against Iran, suggesting the latest round of strikes would not extend indefinitely.

"I don't think too long," Trump said when asked how long the current bombing campaign might continue, while also noting the U.S. remained "prepared to do another one" if circumstances warranted further action. Trump separately reiterated his claim that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping corridor for oil exports that has featured prominently in the ongoing conflict.

The renewed U.S. strikes followed several weeks of relative calm in the six-month war, with Iran responding by launching drones and missiles targeting American military bases across the Middle East, continuing a pattern of retaliation that has characterized much of the conflict's duration. Market analysts have noted that while some oil exports have continued departing the Persian Gulf aboard tankers operating with their transponders switched off, the latest escalation has raised renewed concern among traders over the potential for deeper disruptions to regional oil supply chains.

Beyond the geopolitical and monetary policy developments driving Thursday's session, corporate earnings news continued to shape individual stock movements this week. Dell Technologies was among the strongest performers in the S&P 500 earlier in the week, surging 13% after the company beat both revenue and earnings estimates and raised its forecast for fiscal year 2027. Palo Alto Networks moved in the opposite direction, falling 10% despite reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, illustrating the market's continued sensitivity to forward guidance even when current-quarter performance exceeds expectations.

Sector performance across the S&P 500 has shown broad participation in the recent rebound, with nine of the index's 11 sectors posting gains earlier in the week, led by materials stocks, which climbed 1.6%. Real estate lagged behind the broader market, falling 0.6% amid continued sensitivity to elevated borrowing costs within that sector. So far in the third quarter, both the Dow and S&P 500 remain higher, putting the indexes on track for back-to-back quarterly gains, while the Nasdaq has traded closer to flat for the quarter after briefly turning positive earlier in the week.

Financial and technology stocks have shown particular resilience in recent sessions, recovering after the earlier run-up in Treasury yields had weighed on the outlook for credit-sensitive sectors. Major technology "hyperscaler" companies posted gains earlier in the week, with Alphabet rising 0.6%, Meta Platforms climbing 2.5%, and Oracle advancing 3.1%, reflecting continued investor enthusiasm for companies positioned to benefit from ongoing artificial intelligence infrastructure spending.

Beyond equities, market watchers have also pointed to a notable rise in retail participation in alternative investment vehicles this year. According to a Bank of America Institute report cited in recent market coverage, roughly 5% of Bank of America customers used a sports betting or prediction-market platform in July, marking a 40% increase from the start of 2026. The number of people making their first payment to such platforms in June and July was more than three times the level recorded in January, according to the same report, reflecting a broader shift in how younger investors are engaging with speculative markets alongside traditional equities.

With Friday's labor market report looming as the next major catalyst for markets, investors will likely continue weighing the competing forces shaping this week's trading: easing Treasury yields and dovish signals from Federal Reserve officials on one hand, and the unresolved Iran conflict's implications for oil prices and broader inflation expectations on the other, as Wall Street looks to extend its recovery from the volatility that characterized the start of the week.