Nvidia Cracks Open the Morning, and Nasdaq Is All Smiles

Right now the S&P 500 sits at 7,701.99 (+0.34%) and the Nasdaq at 26,336.86 (+0.79%), both pushing higher right out of the gate — and compared to my last brief at 4:40am, the Nasdaq picked up another 0.78 points of pace, which tells me something shifted the mood in between. Turns out Nvidia's earnings beat expectations and lit a fire under chip stocks across the board, and jobless claims came in lower than forecast too, reassuring everyone the labor market's still holding steady. Yesterday's Korean session closed with both the Kospi and Kosdaq up in the high-1% range, and today Wall Street is picking up that baton with chips leading the charge. In my own book, Microsoft's still smiling at +24.8% and Nvidia at +5.1%, while Duksan Neolux sits at -7.4% and SLB at +0.2%, both holding steady without much drama. With about six hours left before the close, I'll be watching whether this chip-driven tailwind keeps blowing all the way to the bell.