Dow surges more than 300 points to retake 50,000 level as Cisco shares jump

Stocks were higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average retaking 50,000 after strong earnings from Cisco Systems and following a key meeting between U.S. and China.

The 30-stock index popped 329 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1%. Those two scored fresh all-time intraday highs.

“It’s hard to look past the robust earnings growth story,” William Merz, head of capital markets research at U.S. Bank Asset Management, told CNBC. He said that corporate fundamentals are “remarkably strong,” most notably for U.S. large-cap companies.

Cisco’s gain gave the Dow a boost, sending it to 50,000 during the session. The Dow also got a lift from Nvidia also advanced more than 4% after Reuters reported that the U.S. has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to purchase Nvidia’s H200 chip, though no deliveries have been made yet.

Cisco and Nvidia, as well as Amazon, have supported the Dow’s comeback — Cisco has soared 48% in the past two months, while Amazon and Nvidia has gained 28% and 30%, respectively. The run-up for the index comes even as the conflict in the Middle East persists, keeping inflationary fears among investors heightened as oil prices remain elevated.

Iran was a major topic of discussion during the summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday, with the two sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open, per a White House official.