Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq surge after Nvidia gains, bitcoin jumps to record high

Existing home sales rose in October as house hunters returned to the market.

Sales of previously owned homes rose 2.9% from a year ago to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million, marking the first annual gain since July 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors Thursday. Turnover increased by 3.4% compared to September.

Economists polled by Bloomberg expected existing home sales to reach a pace of 3.95 million in October.

“The worst of the home sales downturn could be over, with rising inventory leading to more transactions,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun wrote in a news release.

Homes typically go under contract a month or two before the contract expires, meaning October data largely reflects decisions made in September and August.

The interest rate on 30-year mortgages fell to approximately 6% in September. Cheaper financing costs generally lead to more housing activity. But according to Freddie Mac, rates are now hovering around 6.7%.

“Additional job gains and continued economic growth appear assured, resulting in growing demand for housing. However, for most first-time homebuyers, mortgage financing is crucial,” Yun said. “Although mortgage rates remain high, they are expected to stabilize.”

The data also showed that the average home price rose 4% from October last year to $407,200, marking the 16th consecutive month of annual price increases.

US stocks rose on Thursday as investors digested Nvidia’s (NVDA) gains, while bitcoin (BTC-USD) briefly hit another all-time high just above $98,000.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was down 0.6%, marking a quiet day for the major gauges.

Nvidia beat third-quarter earnings, but the chipmaker’s revenue growth forecast slowed. Shares of the AI ​​chip heavyweight erased pre-market losses to open 4% higher.

Meanwhile, bitcoin rose more than 5% earlier on Thursday, closing in on the $100,000 threshold, amid optimism that the new Trump administration will implement crypto-friendly policies.

Weekly unemployment claims rose less than expected last week, in a sign of cooling in the labor market.

New data from the Department of Labor shows that 213,000 initial unemployment claims were filed in the week ending Nov. 16, up from 219,000 the week before and below the 220,000 economists had expected. Weekly unemployment claims have fallen steadily in recent weeks after reaching their highest level in more than a year in October.

Meanwhile, continuing claims for unemployment benefits stood at 1.908 million, up 36,000 from the previous week and the highest level since November 2021.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose more than 5% to a record high on Thursday morning, trading just above $98,000, amid speculation about pro-crypto policies from an incoming Trump administration.

The token is up about 40% since the presidential election earlier this month and has hit multiple milestones as investors eye the $100,000 target.

Reports that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has discussed the possibility of a first-ever crypto policy chief for the White House have helped push the token’s delisting in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin has been a major part of the “Trump trade,” as the new president has promised to explore crypto-friendly initiatives, including building a national bitcoin stockpile.

The Target (TGT) ticker page on Yahoo Finance is still seeing a lot of interest after its 21.9% share price plunge following Wednesday’s earnings results.

Shares are up slightly in the pre-market.

From top to bottom, Target’s results were downright stinking. The reality is that the stock will likely remain in the penalty box until Target can deliver at least two quarters of healthy earnings thanks to stronger sales.

I think Deutsche Bank analyst Krisztina Katai summarized the problems well:

“The results indicate a significant deterioration in market share, especially for Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN). This, combined with the necessary investments in infrastructure and supply chain modernization to remain competitive, suggests that the recovery will take longer than initially expected. While we still believe Target’s long-term potential remains, regaining lost market share will likely require substantial price investments and increased promotions, putting pressure on margins and profitability.”

Below I list some of the challenges Target faces.

Nvidia (NVDA) is under some pressure in the pre-market after last night’s earnings results.

That makes sense, because Jensen hasn’t blown everyone away with quarterly revenue guidance. But to be clear, the guidance was impressive – just not at the high end of some very robust Street estimates.

An important point, however, that was doing the rounds this morning on the sidelines of Nvidia.

If the sell-off accelerates during the session, it could be a result of some near-term margin concerns as Nvidia ramps up production of its latest AI chip Blackwell. During disaster periods, costs are usually high and profit margins are not at the highest level.

Comments Keybanc analyst John Vinh:

“Nvidia noted that supply on Blackwell was limited in the fiscal fourth quarter, and given the multi-platform ramp-up, expects gross margin to temporarily be in the low 70s in the first quarter of 2026 before rebounding in the second half returns to mid 70s.”