Stock market today: Markets close up across the board

• S&P 500 Futures: $5,804.25 ⬆️ up 0.43%
• S&P 500: 5,745.37 ⬆️ up 0.40%
• Nasdaq Composite: 18,190.29 ⬆️ up 0.60%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 42,175.11 ⬆️ up 0.62% 
• STOXX Europe 600: 525.61 ⬆️ up 1.3%
• Nikkei 225: 38,925.63 ⬆️ up 2.79%
• SSE Composite Index 3,000.95 ⬆️ up 3.61%
• Bitcoin: $64,718.40 ⬆️ up 2.54%

U.S. futures looking bright
All three indices closed in the green, though they fell from highs earlier in the day after investors hoping to get more insights from Fed chair Jerome Powell in a Thursday speech were left high and dry when he didn’t mention the economy or monetary policy. Revised economic data also showed GDP growth and continued pandemic recovery.

The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 bolstered by tech
The S&P 500 closed up 0.40% while the Nasdaq was up 0.60% and the Dow closed up 0.62% Southwest saw stocks soar 10% on news of a turnaround plan while AI optimism boosted tech stocks, with Nvidia up slightly by 0.53%, getting closer to its August high.

China: Stimulus sends stocks soaring a second time
China’s CSI 300 Index is approaching its biggest weekly gain in years as stocks rally on news out of Beijing that more cash handouts are coming to the poor and $140 billion is being injected into the largest state-run banks. The Shanghai index zoomed to a 3.61% gain Thursday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 4.16%.

Japan: Micron makes market moves
The Nikkei 225 surged 2.79%, led by semiconductor industry stocks Disco and Tokyo Electron, after better-than-expected earnings from U.S. chip giant [hotlink]Micron Technology,[/hotlink] which is seeing a boost from AI demand.

Europe: Markets hit all-time closing highs
The new China stimulus reverberated through Europe, which also saw the STOXX Europe 600 hit an all-time closing high, up 1.3% at 525.61 points. Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank also cut borrowing costs by 25 basis points, adding to banks cutting interest rates and looking to cool inflation.