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Nvidia<\/a>, the chip company that\u2019s become Wall Street\u2019s\u00a0most influential stock<\/a>, is rising again Thursday, and it\u2019s helping to keep U.S. indexes around their records despite a\u00a0mixed<\/a>\u00a0set of reports on the economy.<\/p>\n The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in midday trading after setting an all-time high for the 31st time this year before Wednesday\u2019s holiday. The Dow<\/a> Jones Industrial Average was up 69 points, or 0.2%, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq<\/a> composite added 0.2% to its own record.<\/p>\n Nvidia rose 2.8% after supplanting\u00a0Microsoft<\/a>\u00a0on Tuesday as the most valuable company on Wall Street with a total market value of more than $3.3 trillion. It\u2019s been on an incredible run as the main beneficiary of the stock market\u2019s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.<\/p>\n Nvidia\u2019s chips are helping to power the move into\u00a0AI<\/a>, which proponents see producing explosive growth in productivity and profits, and it\u2019s already up 181.5% this year after more than tripling last year.<\/p>\n The gains for Nvidia and other AI winners have helped prop up the stock market despite some weakness in the U.S. economy. High interest rates meant to grind down inflation have hurt the\u00a0housing market<\/a>\u00a0and manufacturing in particular, while\u00a0lower-income households<\/a>\u00a0are showing signs of struggling to keep up with still-rising prices.<\/p>\n Winnebago Industries<\/a>, for example, has been introducing \u201ceconomical\u201d trailers to attract customers amid \u201cinconsistent retail patterns.\u201d But its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts\u2019 expectations. Shares of the maker of motorhomes and pontoons fell 3.9%.<\/p>\n In a show of how powerful AI can be, Accenture<\/a> rose 6.2% even though the consulting and professional-services company reported weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. In its earnings report, it highlighted how it won over $900 million in new bookings for generative AI, bringing the total for its last three quarters to more than $2 billion.<\/p>\n Among the few stocks to do even better than Accenture was Super Micro Computer<\/a>, which sells server and storage systems used in AI and other computing. It jumped 7.9% to bring its gain for the year so far to 249.3%.<\/p>\n The supernova for AI stocks has helped mask some weakness underneath the surface in the market. That can be a worrying signal for market watchers, who would prefer to see a large number of companies pushing the market higher instead of just a handful.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been common in past cycles, as the stock market is coming into a meaningful top, that the biggest growth names are the ones carrying the load,\u201d according to Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo<\/a> Investment Institute,<\/p>\n Treasury yields ticked higher following a spate of mixed reports on the economy. The number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits eased last week, but not by as much as economists expected. A separate report said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic is growing, but not as quickly as economists thought. Home builders, meanwhile, broke ground on fewer new homes last month than expected.<\/p>\n The hope on Wall Street is actually for a slowdown in the U.S. economy\u2019s growth. That could help keep a lid on inflationary pressures and convince the\u00a0Federal Reserve to cut<\/a>\u00a0its main interest rate later this year. Such a cut would release pressure on the economy and boost investment prices.<\/p>\n Fed officials have indicated they could cut their main interest rate once or twice this year, down from its highest level in more than 20 years. Many traders on Wall Street, meanwhile, are expecting two or more, according to data from CME Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.27% from 4.22% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, rose more modestly to 4.74% from 4.71%.<\/p>\n Some other central banks have already begun removing the brakes from their economies.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Swiss National Bank<\/a>\u00a0cuts its main rate on Thursday. The\u00a0Bank of England<\/a>, though, kept its main rate steady.<\/p>\n Stock indexes rose across much of Europe following the moves. The French CAC 40 gained 1.3% to recoup more of its\u00a0losses from last week following jolting results from elections.<\/a>\u00a0Asian indexes were mixed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to the Fortune Next to Lead newsletter to get weekly strategies on how to make it to the corner office. Sign up for free<\/a> before it launches on June 24, 2024.<\/div>\n