Nvidia surged nearly 5% in extended trading after reporting fiscal second-quarter results that exceeded expectations and announcing plans to acquire AI startup Hugging Face for $13 billion.
The Santa Clara-based chipmaker posted data center revenue that more than doubled from a year earlier, while projecting 2027 sales growth of 70%. The company, often described as a $5 trillion market-capitalization juggernaut, has become a bellwether for the artificial intelligence investment cycle. Nvidia’s quarterly update follows a period in which the broader software-as-a-service sector has trailed the S&P 500 by roughly 30%.
Shares of Salesforce and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike each jumped more than 10% before regular trading as investors responded to their latest quarterly results and strategic partnerships. Salesforce’s collaboration with AI lab Anthropic contributed to the advance, while CrowdStrike’s results underscored resilience in enterprise security demand.
The gains came as U.S. core personal consumption expenditures inflation, the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge, held at 3.3% annually. The data preceded the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming, where Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on Friday. Markets are also awaiting the outcome of a two-day auction cycle starting Thursday, with the U.S. Treasury scheduled to sell $44 billion in 7-year notes, $70 billion in 5-year notes, and $28 billion in 2-year floating rate notes.
South Korea’s chip-heavy Kospi index rose 1.5% on Thursday, reflecting regional technology sector strength. Meanwhile, geopolitical developments in the Gulf added to market focus, with Iran and Oman nearing an agreement to stabilize shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid a broader oil price decline.
European Central Bank officials have signaled potential for another rate increase next month, following mixed economic indicators released on Wednesday. The ECB’s stance contrasts with the Fed’s upcoming Jackson Hole gathering, where policy signals are expected to take center stage.
