U.S. stocks drifted lower late Thursday morning as investors digested Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings report, rising oil prices and increasingly crowded positioning across the artificial-intelligence trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 72.77 points, or 0.15%, to 49,936.6, while the S&P 500 dropped 27.02 points, or 0.36%, to 7,405.95. The Nasdaq Composite lost 135.53 points, or 0.52%, to 26,134.8 just before noon ET, according to the screenshots provided.
The market’s primary focus remained Nvidia after the chip giant once again delivered results that topped Wall Street expectations. Crude oil also surged sharply, with July WTI crude climbing $3.79, or 3.86%, to $102.05 per barrel, adding renewed inflation concerns into the session. The VIX volatility index hovered near 17.47, reflecting relatively contained but rising investor anxiety.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called Nvidia’s latest quarter “another strong print from the Godfather of AI,” saying the company “remains king of the AI castle” as the infrastructure buildout accelerates. Nvidia posted revenue of $81.6 billion, up 85% year over year, while data-center revenue surged 92% to $75.2 billion. The firm added that Nvidia’s guidance of $91 billion for the current quarter came in far above Wall Street expectations.
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Still, investors appeared reluctant to aggressively chase technology shares after a massive multi-month AI rally. Another Wedbush note described Nvidia as “the one chip in the world fueling the AI Revolution,” while arguing AI infrastructure spending could ultimately reach between $3 trillion and $4 trillion by the end of the decade. Yet traders rotated selectively across semiconductors rather than broadly buying the sector.
The latest Hazeltree Crowding Report underscored why some investors may be growing cautious. . The report said Nvidia remains one of the market’s most crowded hedge-fund longs, though positioning has weakened recently. Hazeltree noted Nvidia’s long-to-short hedge fund ratio compressed from roughly 6-to-1 in March to around 3-to-1 in April as short interest increased. The report also said Meta, Amazon and Nvidia remain among the most crowded long positions across North America.
Investors were also weighing broader consumer and macroeconomic signals. Walmart’s latest earnings helped calm fears around consumer spending resilience even as investors continue debating the durability of U.S. economic growth.
Meanwhile, speculative enthusiasm spilled into another major technology narrative after SpaceX’s newly filed IPO paperwork. Wedbush called it a “major moment for space and tech,” estimating SpaceX is targeting a combined addressable market opportunity of roughly $28.5 trillion spanning AI, connectivity and space infrastructure.
For now, however, Thursday’s session suggests investors may be demanding even stronger catalysts to keep pushing technology stocks higher after one of Wall Street’s most crowded trades delivered yet another blowout quarter.