Stocks Continue to March Higher; Nvidia Somewhat Disappoints; Dollar General, Ollie's Top Retail 2Q Earnings; Gold, Silver Bid

U.S. stocks continued their relentless rally on Wednesday, as bourses in other countries struggled for gains. India's SENSEX has been particularly hard hit, down three of the past four sessions, while European stocks have chopped along to lower levels.

With Nvidia (NVDA) reporting generally positive results after the close Wednesday, invstors seemed concerned about the prospects for continued growth from the world's leading AI chip maker, the stock trending about two percent lower in the aftermarket and prior to Thursday's opening bell.

At the same time, gold and silver prices have spiked higher, with gold heading for record prices on the futures market, hitting $3,466 around 8:30 am ET. Silver was bid very strongly, with $39.72 the most recent price.

A number of important retailers reported Thursday morning.

Briefly, Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) beat expectations and issued positive guidance, but the stock is marginally lower over concerns about its recent acquisition of Foot Locker.

Best Buy (BBY) reported modest sales recovery fr the most recnt quarter, but issued a warning of sorts, expressing a view that tariffs are complicating its turnaround efforts. Shares are down less than two percent in the pre-market.

Dollar General (DG), one of the nation's largest discount chains, reported strong earnings and raised fiscal year guidance, saying that shoppers are seeking bargains on household items, which is making their stores a destination for struggling consumers, though sales have been consistent. The stock is trading up about five percent prior to the open.

Surplus retailer Ollie's (OLLI) reported strong results for the second quarter, with revenue at $679.6 million versus analyst estimates of $661.9 million (17.5% year-on-year growth, 2.7% beat), and adjusted EPS of $0.99 against analyst estimates of $0.93, a 6.8% beat. Shares of the company are soaring pre-market, up as much as six percent.

At 8:30 am ET, the BEA issued the second estimate of second quarter real GDP, revising the initial estimate 0.3% higher, to 3.3% for the quarter.

Weekly unemployment claims were moderate, at 229,000 intial claims, down 5,000 from last week. Continuing claims remain stubbornly high, with nearly two million seeking work.

That news moved the neddle slightly, but U.S. stock futures fluctuated around unchanged. The Dow was the most prominent, up around 50 points less than an hour before the bell.

Strong showings by a handful of companies, consumer spending relatively stable, a solid employment market and GDP at 3.3% doesn't exactly scream "rate cut," though that continues to be the preferred path for the Fed following last week's Jackson Hole speech by Chairman Jerome Powell.

With the S&P making another record high close on Wednesday, the Shiller PE (CAPE) hit 39.04 and appears to be heading toward the record level of 44.19, made in December, 1999, at the peak of the dotcom boom.

This time the techology pushing stocks is AI. The biggest names in tech - Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platforms - have invested heavily in data farms and faster chips required to power the Large Language Models (LLMs) on which AI relies. There is some concern that the hundreds of billions spent on building out AI might be a bridge too far, as there have only been spotty financial results stemming from the boom, though it is still early in the game.

So far, this week has been positive for stocks, despite a handful of issues overhanging the markets, but, heading toward the end of the month and a three-day weekend, U.S. stocks appear to be in good shape.

At the Close, Wednesday, August 27, 2025:
Dow: 45,565.23, +147.16 (+0.32%)
NASDAQ: 21,590.14, +45.87 (+0.21%)
S&P 500: 6,481.40, +15.46 (+0.24%)
NYSE Composite: 21,132.43, +49.88 (+0.24%)