Wall Street was propped up by gains from Nvidia, Amazon, and other AI giants. The S&P 500 inched closer to its all-time high, while the Dow Jones dropped and the Nasdaq climbed. Nvidia led the charge, up 54.1% for the year, with Amazon following suit with a 4% rally.

On the AI front, IREN surged 11.5% after Microsoft secured a $9.7 billion contract with them. Palantir Technologies also rose 3.3%, maintaining its impressive 165% gain this year. Companies must meet profit expectations to justify stock gains, with criticism mounting about inflated AI stock prices.

The S&P 500 rose to 6,851.97, while the Dow Jones fell to 47,336.68, and the Nasdaq rose to 23,834.72. Beyond Meat tumbled 16% after delaying its earnings report. The 10-year Treasury yield edged down to 4.10%, and U.S. manufacturing activity shrank more than expected, citing financial pain from Trump’s tariffs.

In global markets, European indexes were mixed after a strong finish in Asia. South Korea’s Kospi hit a record high, with SK Hynix soaring nearly 11% on AI collaborations with Nvidia. South Korean shipbuilders also benefited after China announced the cancellation of added port fees on U.S.-invested vessels.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: AI darlings prop up Wall Street as most other stocks fall