By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) – Global stocks inched higher in choppy trading on Thursday, with European gains followed by a mixed session on Wall Street as investors weighed a snag in AI momentum, while oil prices fell, dragged by a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
In the U.S., the benchmark S&P 500 reversed early losses to finish higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record closing high while the Nasdaq edged lower, as technology shares drove losses and healthcare and financial stocks led gains.
The Dow rose 1.73%, the S&P 500 rose 0.41%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.09%.
Shares in Broadcom tumbled more than 12%, pulling semiconductor stocks broadly lower, after the chipmaker’s results disappointed investors who had bet on surging demand for its custom AI chips. The Philadelphia semiconductor index lost 2.2%.
Europe’s bourses rose 0.52%. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.09%.
“We saw a little pocket of weakness in the chip stocks with the disappointing news from Broadcom last night,” said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management.
“Today’s action in tech specifically is emblematic of how fragile sentiment can be for a group of stocks that experience massive gains in a short period of time.”
CRUDE OIL DIPS
U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to halt fighting in Lebanon were undermined after the pro-Iran Hezbollah movement rejected the new ceasefire and Israel said it would not withdraw troops from the country.
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives also approved a war powers resolution on Wednesday to block Trump from continuing the conflict against Iran.
The measure is largely symbolic, however, as it must still pass the Senate and would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override an almost certain presidential veto.
“Those headlines are probably net positive on the geopolitical front and the market is embracing that for now. We’ve seen a lot of volatility around geopolitical headlines in both directions and I would say at the margins, it’s positive with the ceasefire agreement,” St. Aubin said.
Brent crude prices dropped nearly 3% to settle at $95.03 a barrel.
YEN HOVERS AROUND 160
In currency markets, investors were watching out for possible official intervention as the Japanese yen hovered near the key 160 level.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara had said in Tokyo he expects the central bank to coordinate its moves with the government after BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda had given fresh hints that an interest rate hike is in the cards this month.
