US markets open higher; S&P 500 opens 0.13% up

Nvidia surged 2.56 percent on NASDAQ on the news that Hewlett Packard Enterprise shipped its first Grace Blackwell system.

US markets opened higher with S&P 500 opening 0.13 percent higher at 6123.88 and Dow Jones opening 0.17 percent up at 44,471. The US markets opened after a stock market holiday on February 17 for President's Day.

Since January 1, Dow Jones has gained 4.7 percent, while the S&P 500 has gained 4 percent in the same period.

Top gainers on S&P 500 were Micron Technologies, Intel Corp, Dell Technologies, and Energy Corp.

Among the top losers on S&P 500 were Medtronic PLC, General Mills Inc, Genuine Parts Co and others.

Nvidia surged 2.56 percent on NASDAQ on the news that Hewlett Packard Enterprise shipped its first Grace Blackwell system.

There were earlier concerns that Nvidia's rollout of these chips was facing delays due to technical glitches. Investors feared these issues might slow adoption and affect Nvidia’s dominance in AI computing. However, HPE’s successful shipment of the first system reassured investors that the rollout was back on track.

US markets will also be watching closely as US undertakes historic talks with Russia to discuss ending the Ukraine-Russia war. Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky has raised concerns on Kyiev not being invited to be a part of the discussions.

Indian markets close lower

Benchmark indices ended marginally lower on February 18. The Sensex fell by 29.47 points or 0.04 percent to 75,967.39, and the Nifty 50 was lower by 14.20 points or 0.06 percent at 22,945.30.

Trent, IndusInd Bank, M&M, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics were among the top losers on the Nifty, while gainers included Tech Mahindra, Wipro, ONGC, Power Grid and NTPC.

Other indices trade mixed

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the day at 39,270.40 which is around 0.25% higher . South Korea’s Kospi also gained 0.63% to close at 2,626.81.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also rose by 1.59% to close at 22,976.86. CNBC noted that the Hang Seng tech ended the day up 2.54% at 5,639, reversing course from the losses in the previous session after Xi’s comments urging the country’s private sector businesses to “show their “talents.”