Dow soars 900 points to all-time high, while chipmaker Broadcom sends tech sector stumbling

The Dow scaled an all-time high and the S&P 500 rose on Thursday, lifted by UnitedHealth and financials shares, while Broadcom’s results fell short of high investor expectations, dragging down chip stocks and the Nasdaq.In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 912 points, or 1.8%, to 51,599.The S&P 500 gained 0.3%, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%.Broadcom shares slumped 14% after the chipmaker also maintained its long-range forecast of $100 billion in sales from its AI chips.

The stock has climbed nearly 55% this quarter and could shed nearly $320 billion in market value if losses hold through the session.“Broadcom earnings (were) good news other than the fact that their guidance wasn’t what the market may have been expecting,” said Dustin Thackeray, chief investment officer at Crewe Advisors.“The chips are due for a bit of a breather.Obviously, they’ve had a tremendous run-up from end of March lows.”After a weak start to the session, the S&P 500 turned higher as a rotation out of tech shares boosted other areas of the market, with nine out of 11 major S&P 500 sectors in the green.Blackstone became the latest asset manager to cap withdrawals from its flagship private credit fund following a rise in redemption requests.The rally on Wall Street has stalled this week as investors weigh a renewed flare-up in hostilities between the United States and Iran.Although the two sides agreed to a ceasefire in early April, talks to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz have made little progress, threatening to keep oil prices elevated and stoke inflation.Weekly jobless claims data showed the number of Americans filing claims increased more than expected last week, ahead of Friday’s broader monthly employment report.The data will give new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh a fresh read on the US labor market as he heads into his first policy meeting this month, at a time when US consumers are under strain from Iran ...