Nvidia soars after good earnings report

While Nvidia’s (NVDA) long-awaited earnings report sent shares of the chip giant soaring and helped support the technology sector’s outperformance, major U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday.

Despite renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) around Nvidia’s results, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has become the latest economic data point to increase concerns about inflation. With the PMI showing that business activity grew at the fastest pace in more than two years in May, the latest signs of economic resilience could prompt the Federal Reserve to delay expected interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7%. The Dow fell 1.5% and the Nasdaq closed 0.4% lower.

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) were the biggest losers on the S&P 500, falling 7.8% after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an antitrust lawsuit against parent company Ticketmaster. The Department of Justice accuses Live Nation of using anti-competitive tactics to gain control of the live events industry. For its part, the company denies monopoly claims, pointing out that Ticketmaster’s fees are no higher than those charged by other ticketing companies.

Shares of Boeing (BA) fell 7.6% after the aerospace giant’s chief financial officer said deliveries would not increase in the second quarter and forecast the company would generate negative free cash flow for the full year. The executive also confirmed reports of delayed aircraft deliveries in China related to ongoing reviews by the country’s aviation regulator.

Shares of Caesars Entertainment (CZR) fell 6.3%. After Thursday’s losses, the casino operator’s shares have fallen more than 30% since the beginning of the year.

Nvidia shares were the best performer on the S&P 500 index on the day, rising 9.3% after the semiconductor giant posted its highest-ever quarterly profits and sales, beating lofty Wall Street forecasts. As expected, AI-driven demand has helped fuel tremendous growth in the company’s data center business. Nvidia also announced a 10-to-1 stock split, effective June 7, when its stock price exceeded $1,000 in Thursday trading.

Shares of packaging maker International Paper (IP) rose 6.1% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to “buy” and raised its price target. Analysts noted International Paper’s new CEO’s approach of focusing on value over sales volume. They also pointed to additional scale in Europe and portfolio adjustments that could help drive growth.

Ralph Lauren (RL) shares gained 3.3% after the clothing company reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and earnings. The company highlighted opportunities to grow women’s fashion and announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer.