S&P 500, Dow Notch New Highs as GDP Data Buoy Wall Street

05:04 PM EDT, 08/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to fresh record highs on Thursday amid signs that the US economy is weathering tariff headwinds better than expected, while markets evaluated Nvidia's (NVDA) most-recent results and guidance.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% to 6,501.9, recording a back-to-back record finish, while the Dow added 0.2% to 45,636.9, its second closing high in a week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% to 21,705.2, near its previous record level.

Most sectors ended higher, led by communication services, while utilities saw the biggest drop.

In economic news, the US economy expanded in the second quarter at the fastest pace in nearly two years amid stronger consumer spending and business investment than previously expected, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis' second estimate.

"While the headline figure was inflated by a massive swing in trade -- stemming from an unwinding of (the first quarter's) tariff front-running -- the upward revisions to consumer spending and business investment suggest that the domestic side of the economy is holding up a bit better than previously reported," Thomas Feltmate, senior economist at TD Economics, said in a note.

US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year rate falling 2.6 basis points to 4.21% and the two-year rate increasing 2.4 basis point to 3.65%.

Shares of technology bellwether Nvidia (NVDA) finished the session down 0.8%.

The chipmaking giant late Wednesday beat fiscal second-quarter estimates and outlined a strong revenue outlook despite ongoing headwinds related to the Chinese market.

Data-center performance was strong, but fell short of "whisper" expectations on Wall Street, Saxo Bank said in a report published Thursday.

"Nvidia's (NVDA) results highlight an important turning point: AI remains a transformative theme, but the market is no longer in hyper-exuberant discovery mode," Saxo Chief Investment Strategist Charu Chanana wrote. "From here, the trade requires more selectivity, diversification, and tactical income strategies."

Separately, Wedbush Securities said Nvidia (NVDA) is on course to reach $5 trillion in market capitalization by early 2026, adding that any decline in the company's stock is a "clear buying opportunity."

Hormel Foods (HRL) shares slumped 13%, the worst performer on the S&P 500. The food maker lowered its full-year earnings outlook as its fiscal third-quarter bottom line unexpectedly declined amid rising commodity input costs.

Brown-Forman's (BF.A, BF.B) fiscal first-quarter revenue topped the Street's estimates, while the wine and spirits maker's earnings fell more than expected amid macro headwinds. The company's class B shares were down 4.9%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500, while its class A shares slumped 4.7%.

CrowdStrike (CRWD) shares were up 4.6%, among the top S&P 500 gainers. The cybersecurity firm late Wednesday raised its full-year earnings guidance and reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.1% at $64.24 in Thursday late-afternoon trade.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in a bid to overturn US President Donald Trump's move to fire her, the Associated Press reported, citing a court filing.

Trump recently informed Cook in a publicly shared letter that he had determined "sufficient cause" to remove her from the Fed's board of governors. Trump said Cook may have made "false statements on one or more mortgage agreements."

Gold was up 0.8% at $3,476.10 per troy ounce, while silver added 1.2% to $39.69 per ounce.

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