*
Best Buy ( BBY ) slumps after cutting annual sales, profit
forecasts
*
Boeing ( BA ) climbs as CEO aims to boost 737 MAX production
*
Indexes gain: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.24%, Nasdaq 0.22%
(Updates to afternoon trading)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, May 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were slightly
higher in choppy afternoon trading on Thursday, with shares of
Nvidia ( NVDA ) gaining after its quarterly results.
A federal court ruling blocked most of U.S. President
Donald Trump's tariffs, but by Thursday afternoon a U.S. appeals
court had reinstated the tariffs.
Indexes were well off their highs of the day. Salesforce ( CRM )
shares fell 5% even as the enterprise software provider
raised its annual revenue and adjusted profit forecasts.
The earlier U.S. court decision invalidated with immediate
effect most of Trump's sweeping levies imposed since January.
Nvidia ( NVDA ) added 3.3% after reporting
higher-than-expected quarterly sales growth, driven by customers
stockpiling AI chips ahead of U.S. export restrictions on China.
The company, however, warned that the new curbs are expected
to cut $8 billion from its current-quarter sales.
Optimism about corporate earnings and Nvidia ( NVDA ) in particular
is providing some support, said Oliver Pursche, senior vice
president, adviser for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport,
Connecticut.
But he added, "As an investor, I don't think there's an
impetus to do anything or change anything, and that's what the
market is reflecting."
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index rose in the
wake of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) results, last up 0.3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61.22 points,
or 0.15%, to 42,159.92, the S&P 500 gained 13.26 points,
or 0.24%, to 5,902.94 and the Nasdaq Composite gained
42.11 points, or 0.22%, to 19,143.05.
Boeing ( BA ) climbed 3.3% after CEO Kelly Ortberg said the
planemaker aims to increase production of its best-selling 737
MAX jets to 42 aircraft per month in the next few months and
boost output to 47 a month in early 2026.
A second reading from the Commerce Department showed gross
domestic product contracted 0.2% in the first quarter.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.3% contraction.
In other earnings, Best Buy ( BBY ) dropped 8% after the
electronics retailer lowered its annual comparable sales and
profit forecasts amid concerns that U.S. tariffs would weigh on
consumer demand for big-ticket items.