Nasdaq Leads Wall Street Rally as Intel Surges on Nvidia Deal; Jobless Claims Drop

Tech stocks powered U.S. markets higher with Intel jumping 22.8% on a Nvidia collaboration. Strong jobless claims data and semiconductor gains drove the Nasdaq to fresh highs while Europe rallied and bond yields edged up.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, jumping 209.40 points (0.9%) to 22,470.73. The S&P 500 also climbed 31.61 points (0.5%) to 6,631.96 while the Dow rose 124.10 points (0.3%) to 46,142.42.

Technology stocks helped lead the markets higher amid a spike by shares of Intel (INTC), with the chipmaker skyrocketing by 22.8% to its best closing level in over a year. Intel?s rally took place after it announced a collaboration with Nvidia (NVDA) to jointly develop multiple generations of custom data center and PC products. Nvidia jumped by 3.5% after moving to the downwards over the past few sessions, will invest $5 billion in Intel's common stock at a purchase price of $23.28 per share. Cybersecurity technology company CrowdStrike (CRWD) surged 12.8% after providing upbeat guidance and announcing a strategic partnership with Salesforce (CRM) at an investor day on Wednesday.

The Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims pulled back by more than expected in the week ended September 13th. It said initial jobless claims fell to 231,000, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week's revised level of 264,000. Meanwhile, the Conference Board released a separate report showing its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by much more than expected in the month of August. The Conference Board said its leading economic index slid by 0.5% in August after inching up by a revised 0.1% in July.

semiconductor stocks substantial moved upwards, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 3.6% to a record closing high. Computer hardware and biotechnology stocks too saw considerable strength, contributing to the jump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. financial stocks turned in a strong performance, with the KBW Bank Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index climbing by 1.4% and 1.3%.

Asia-Pacific stock turned in another mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.2% while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.4%.

The major European markets all moved to the upwards while the German DAX Index surged by 1.4% and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index posted a more modest gain, edging up 0.2%.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the late-day weakness seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.8 bps to a two-week closing high of 4.10%.

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