U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday as investor enthusiasm around a high-stakes summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping combined with a resurgence in AI-related trades to push the major indexes to new highs. The S&P 500 crossed the 7,500 level for the first time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average reclaimed the 50,000 mark it had lost in February. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also closed at a fresh record as chipmakers led the charge higher.
What Moved Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 50,063.46, up 370.26 points or 0.75%, pushing back above the psychologically important 50,000 level. The S&P 500 gained 56.99 points, or 0.77%, to finish at 7,501.24 — a new all-time closing high and its first close above 7,500. The Nasdaq Composite rose 232.88 points, or 0.88%, to close at a record 26,635.22.
The rally was driven by several converging forces. Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a two-day summit with Xi, accompanied by a delegation of top U.S. executives including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Early signals from the meetings were broadly positive, with Xi telling the U.S. business leaders that China would further open its markets. Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department cleared export licenses for Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to roughly 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance — a move that unlocked what had been an $8 billion annual market blocked by prior export restrictions.
Solid April retail sales data also supported the bullish mood, easing lingering concerns about the health of the U.S. consumer heading into the summer months.
Notable Movers
Nvidia (NVDA) was the standout performer, hitting a record high of $236.46 after the H200 export approval. CEO Jensen Huang, who was in Beijing for the summit, called the trip “the most important in human history,” underscoring the significance of reopening the Chinese AI chip market for the company.
Cerebras Systems (CBRS) made a spectacular debut on the Nasdaq in the largest pure-play AI initial public offering to date. The AI chipmaker priced at $185 per share, raising $5.5 billion, but opened for trading at $350 and ultimately closed around $311 — a roughly 68% premium to its IPO price. Demand reportedly exceeded available shares by more than 20 times.
Boeing (BA) fell about 4% despite China agreeing to purchase 200 of the company’s jets during the summit — the first Chinese order for U.S.-made commercial aircraft in nearly a decade. Investors were disappointed because earlier reports had suggested an order of up to 500 planes, making the actual deal feel like a letdown by comparison.
Elsewhere, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) rose 2% and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) gained 1.3%, as the rally extended beyond the technology sector into traditionally defensive corners of the market.
Looking Ahead
Investors will be closely watching the second day of the Trump-Xi summit on Friday for any further trade agreements or policy announcements. The summit has already produced tangible results with the Boeing deal and chip export approvals, but markets will want to see whether the positive tone translates into broader trade framework changes. Earnings season continues to wind down with strong results so far — the blended S&P 500 earnings growth rate for Q1 stands at 15.1%, well above initial expectations. With the S&P 500 now trading at a forward P/E of about 20.9, above its five-year average, investors should keep an eye on whether fundamentals can continue to justify these elevated valuations heading into the second half of the year.