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Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA)‘s forecast for a roughly 70% revenue surge next fiscal year sent the chipmaker up 9% Thursday, eyeing its best-performing day since April 2025.

A staggering rally in cybersecurity stocks, fueled by optimism over agentic AI demand, has triggered an unusual shift beneath the surface. Technology was the only S&P 500 sector in the green by midday, with the other 10 all lower. In addition:

• The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 7,734.44, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to 53,663.52, advancing 200 points.
• The Nasdaq 100 rallied almost 1% to about 29,500 points.
• Bond yields stabilized ahead of Kevin Warsh’s highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
• The 10-year Treasury yield held at 4.66%, while the 30-year yield was at 5.18%.

Thursday’s Data Hands Hawks Ammunition

Initial jobless claims fell 4,000 to 203,000 against forecasts for 208,000, wholesale inventories jumped 1.3% versus the 0.2% consensus, and the Kansas City Fed manufacturing production index held at 17, its highest since April 2022. 

Crude firmed modestly. West Texas Intermediate rose 0.6% to $82.73 a barrel, while Brent added 1.2% to $88.85, both still nursing weekly losses of roughly 5% on signs of diplomatic progress in the Middle East.

Gold edged up 0.3% to $4,606.62 an ounce, with the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) tracking the move. Silver was the stronger metal, rising 1.8% to $69.35 an ounce. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rallied 2.7% above $80,000.

Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices

According to the Benzinga Pro platform:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) gained 0.7%.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.4%.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 0.9%.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) advanced 0.4%.

Cybersecurity Melts Up While The Other Ten Sectors Bleed

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) surged 2.9% and was the only one of the 11 S&P 500 sector funds to advance. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) was the worst performer, down 1.0%.

Losses elsewhere were tightly clustered. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) fell 0.8%, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) slid 0.7% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) dropped 0.6% despite firmer crude. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) was the most resilient decliner at 0.4%.

Industry-level dispersion was extreme. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS:IGV) rocketed 6.9%, easily the standout, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) added 2.9% and the Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN) rose 1.9%. 

The Global X Cybersecurity ETF (NYSE:BUG) was up 9.7%.

Thursday’s Stock Movers

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) was the best performer in the Russell 1000, soaring 28.0% to $172.10 after fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share beat the $0.97 consensus on revenue of $805 million versus $795 million expected. The identity provider raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $3.90-$3.94 against a $3.84 Street estimate and said AI-focused products such as Okta for AI Agents accounted for roughly 30% of new bookings.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) jumped 21.0% to $248.77 after posting second-quarter adjusted EPS of $5.90 on revenue of $11.35 billion, up 10.8% year-on-year, and lifting its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook by $300 million in constant currency to $46.1 billion-$46.4 billion. Results included a $2.6 billion gain on its stake in Anthropic, alongside the launch of Claudeforce.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) rallied 17.6% to $222.38 on record net new annual recurring revenue of $333 million, up 51% year-on-year, and adjusted EPS of $0.31 that extended its beat streak to nine quarters. Management raised fiscal 2027 net new ARR growth guidance by 630 basis points to 34% at the midpoint.

Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV) climbed 17.1% to $286.87 after reporting quarterly EPS of $2.35 against a $2.22 consensus on revenue of $928 million, up 17.6%, and raising fiscal 2027 EPS guidance to $9.21 and revenue guidance to $3.682 billion-$3.687 billion.

Figma Inc. (NYSE:FIG) rounded out the top five, up 14.3% to $30.88.

Cybersecurity Complex Went Vertical Behind CrowdStrike, Okta

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 12.1% ahead of its Sept. 1 results, Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) gained 10.5%, SentinelOne Inc. (NYSE:S) added 9.8%, Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) rose 7.2%, and SailPoint Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIL) advanced 13.8% despite not reporting until Sept. 9.

The pain was concentrated in staples, retail and hardware. Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE:HRL) was the worst name in the index, tumbling 9.2% to $21.52 after third-quarter adjusted EPS of 37 cents arrived alongside a cut to full-year sales guidance to $12.1 billion-$12.2 billion and a slashed diluted EPS range of $1.06-$1.12 from $1.28-$1.37, with management citing weak retail demand and soft private-label snack nut volumes.

Everpure Inc. (NYSE:P) sank 8.4% to $99.72 despite 38% revenue growth and a sharply raised full-year outlook, as investors focused on negative second-quarter free cash flow and a gross margin running at the low end of the company’s target range, while it prioritizes share gains over near-term profitability.

Burlington Stores Inc. (NYSE:BURL) fell 6.4% to $293.96 as second-quarter sales landed below analyst estimates even with total sales up 11% and comparable store sales up 2%. The bleed spread across the off-price and discount complex, with Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) down 4.0% and Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) off 3.6%.

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) dropped 5.7% to $141.20 after announcing a $2.0 billion private placement of convertible senior notes due 2032.

Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CELH) slid 5.0% to $33.48 after Deutsche Bank downgraded the energy drink maker to Hold from Buy.

Thursday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers

Thursday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers

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