US stocks post longest weekly winning streak since 2023

{"text":[[{"start":8.3,"text":"Wall Street equities notched up their ninth-straight week of gains as AI stocks rallied and signs that the US and Iran are nearing a deal to extend a fragile ceasefire boosted investor sentiment. "}],[{"start":20.200000000000003,"text":"The S&P 500 rose 1.4 per cent this week, pushing the blue-chip index to its longest weekly winning streak since December 2023. The gauge has jumped 16 per cent since the end of March, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite has soared almost 25 per cent. "}],[{"start":38.6,"text":"Investor sentiment has been lifted this week by indications that Washington and Tehran are drawing closer to an agreement to extend a ceasefire that began on April 8 for 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. "}],[{"start":51.6,"text":"President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was close to making a “final determination” on a proposal, although Iranian officials said the talks between the adversaries were ongoing. "}],[{"start":62.3,"text":"Hopes that a deal would be struck to reopen the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil flowed before the war, sent oil prices falling sharply. Brent, the international benchmark, fell 11 per cent over the week, to settle at a six-week low of $92.05 a barrel."}],[{"start":80.19999999999999,"text":"Markets have also been boosted by indications that booming investments in AI infrastructure are providing a big earnings boost to companies from chipmakers to data centre operators. "}],[{"start":91.54999999999998,"text":"“We’re in full-on mania,” said Mike O’Rourke at Jones Trading. “The growth multiples the market is putting on AI companies’ higher numbers are insane . . . They assume we’re going to see this sort of revenue growth for years and years to come.”"}],[{"start":105.29999999999998,"text":"Shares in Dell Technologies surged 33 per cent on Friday after the computer and server maker posted blockbuster results. "}],[{"start":113.44999999999999,"text":"The rally in Dell shares came after the group late on Thursday said its sales rose 88 per cent to $43.8bn in its fiscal first quarter, from the same period in the previous year. It expects to post revenues of up to $169bn for the full year, well above the $142bn forecast by analysts. "}],[{"start":135.04999999999998,"text":"Revenue for the first quarter from the Texas-based company’s AI servers — which use chips from semiconductor behemoth Nvidia — jumped 757 per cent to $16.1bn. "}],[{"start":147.2,"text":"“The AI opportunity shows no signs of slowing,” said Jeff Clarke, vice-chair and chief operating officer. "}],[{"start":154.75,"text":"Bank of America analysts on Friday described Dell’s earnings as “historic” and said they expect the company’s stock to rise as high as $500. The shares closed at $420.91 on Friday. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":167.75,"text":"In a sign of the exuberance across Wall Street, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks 30 of the world’s biggest US-listed chip manufacturers, has jumped 81 per cent this year and is on track for its largest return since the dotcom bubble at the turn of the millennium. "}],[{"start":185.55,"text":"Huge demand for memory and storage technology has pushed shares in SK Hynix, Micron and Samsung up 1,000 per cent, 900 per cent and 470 per cent respectively over the past 12 months."}],[{"start":198.9,"text":"Nvidia’s chip rivals AMD and Intel are up 350 per cent and 490 per cent respectively over the past year."}],[{"start":206.8,"text":"Dell was earlier this week awarded a $9.7bn contract from the Pentagon to “streamline and consolidate software acquisition” across the defence department, US intelligence services and the coastguard. "}],[{"start":219.8,"text":"Financial disclosures for Trump, released in mid-May, showed a purchase of Dell’s shares of between $1mn and $5mn on February 10. The company’s shares have since climbed roughly 225 per cent."}],[{"start":239.20000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780116363_4654.mp3"}