Tech stocks push S&P 500, Nasdaq to records as Trump meets Xi in Beijing

Wall Street pushed to record highs Thursday as an AI-driven rally in technology stocks lifted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to all-time records, even as President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping opened high-stakes talks in Beijing.

The simultaneous milestones — new market records and a rare face-to-face U.S.-China summit — show how technology sector optimism has emerged as a dominant force in global markets even as geopolitical risks persist.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite set new all-time highs Thursday, extending a run fueled by stronger-than-expected earnings from major technology companies, The Korea Times reported. The so-called "magnificent seven" — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla — climbed about 2 percent Wednesday and roughly 0.7 percent Thursday.

Cisco shares surged more than 15 percent after the networking giant posted quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, adding fresh momentum to a market already buoyed by enthusiasm over artificial intelligence.

"This positive bias is rooted in the positive disposition of many tech stocks," Patrick O'Hare, an analyst at Briefing.com, said before the opening bell Thursday, according to The Korea Times.

European markets also advanced. London rose 0.5 percent, Frankfurt gained more than 1 percent and Paris climbed 0.9 percent. Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB, pointed to a structural divide between American and British equities. "The UK index has been weighed down by its lack of tech, which is driving a global stock market rally," Brooks said. She added: "Politics and a recalibration of interest rate expectations are both failing to dampen the market mood. The question now is, how long can it last?"

Meanwhile in Beijing, Trump opened talks with Xi that covered Taiwan, trade and a potential extension of a one-year tariff truce the two leaders struck at an October summit in South Korea. Trump described the opening session as "extremely positive and productive." Xi, speaking to a delegation of American business executives that included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, offered broad assurances. "China's doors to the outside world will open wider and wider," Xi said, according to Chinese state media. "American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China."

Brent crude slid to around $105 a barrel Thursday while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely blocked — geopolitical headwinds that so far have done little to shake investor confidence in the tech-driven bull market.