Wall Street remains mixed as Broadcom pulls tech, European stocks gain; fat dips
Written by Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) – Stocks around the world edged higher in choppy trade on Thursday, with gains in Europe followed by a mixed session on Wall Street as investors weighed in on AI momentum, while oil prices fell, dragged down by an end to the conflict between Israel and Lebanon.
In the US, the benchmark S&P 500 pared early losses to finish higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record close while the Nasdaq edged lower, as technology stocks led losses and health care and financials led gains.
The Dow rose 1.73%, the S&P 500 rose 0.41%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.09%.
Shares in Broadcom fell more than 12%, making semiconductor stocks the lowest, after the chipmaker’s results disappointed investors who had been betting on strong demand for custom AI chips. The Philadelphia semiconductor index lost 2.2%.
European stocks rose 0.52%. The MSCI gauge of global stocks rose 0.09%.
“We saw a small packet of weakness in the chip stock with the disappointing news from Broadcom last night,” said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management.
“Today’s action in tech is a sign of how volatile sentiment can be for a group of stocks that are making big gains in a short period of time.”
RANDOM VOLTAGE DIPS
US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end hostilities in Lebanon were stymied after Iran-backed Hezbollah rejected a new ceasefire and Israel said it would not withdraw troops from the country.
The Republican-led US House of Representatives also approved a war powers resolution on Wednesday to prevent Trump from continuing the conflict with Iran.
The measure is symbolic, however, as it still has to pass the Senate and will need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a certain presidential veto.
“Those topics probably have a positive net on the geopolitical front and the market is accepting that right now. We’ve seen a lot of volatility around geopolitical topics in both directions and I would say on the margins, it’s good for a stop agreement,” said St. Aubin.
Brent crude prices fell nearly 3% to $95.03 a barrel.
YEN is around 160
In financial markets, investors were looking for a possible official intervention as the Japanese yen hovered near the key 160 level.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in Tokyo he expects the central bank to coordinate its move with the government after BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda gave a fresh hint that an interest rate hike is on the cards this month.
