Nasdaq closes Friday at record high as Nvidia and the AI trade rallies on

The Nasdaq closed Friday at a fresh record high as gains in chipmaker Nvidia outweighed worries that the Federal Reserve will delay interest rate cuts. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, closing at 5,304.72, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.1%, ending at 16,920.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 4.3 points, or 0.01%, to finish at 39,069.59. Week to date, the S&P 500 inched up just 0.03%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed, with a gain of 1.41%. Meanwhile, the Dow shed 2.33%, marking its first negative week in five. Nvidia shares climbed around 2.6% Friday as enthusiasm continued over its blockbuster earnings report, pushing the shares above $1,000 for the first time. The bullish sentiment on the AI giant and other tech names powered the market higher, even as concerns the Fed will not lower rates this summer lingered. After several strong economic and labor data releases this week, Goldman pushed its forecast for the Fed’s first rate cut back to September from July. “Inflation is likely to be much improved by September, but hardly perfect, and still at a year-on-year rate that makes cutting a less than obvious decision,” wrote Goldman economist David Mericle. Traders are now pricing in less than a 50% chance the central bank will cut rates at its September meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Several tech names were higher on Friday. Advanced Micro Devices and Intel rose 3.7% and 2.1%, respectively. Meta and Netflix shares also rallied 2.7% and 1.7% each. Their performance helped Nasdaq log its eleventh record close of the year.