Nvidia's stock surge at odds with the S&P 500 - to a degree not seen in 8 years

By Emily Bary

Nvidia's massive stock rally wasn't enough to save the broad market from sizable declines

Nvidia Corp. has been a big driver of the stock market over the past year. But its might wasn't enough on Thursday, as the chip stock saw big gains while major indexes racked up notable declines.

As Nvidia shares (NVDA) increased 9.3% on the day, the S&P 500 SPX dropped 39.17 points, or 0.7%. That marked a notable disconnect by a number of measures.

Read: Dow plunges as stocks bleed earlier gains

It's been eight years since Nvidia's stock increased by upwards of 7% while the S&P 500 lost at least 0.5%. The last time that happened was May 13, 2016, according to Dow Jones Market Data, when Nvidia shares increased 15.2% and the S&P 500 fell 0.8%.

It's safe to say Nvidia was a different company back then, and not one that was necessarily propelling the market.

Its market capitalization was $22.3 billion at that point in May 2016, according to Dow Jones Market Data, compared with $2.55 trillion now.

And Nvidia back in May 2016 reported $1.3 billion in revenue for the corresponding April quarter. The stock's rally on Thursday came after Nvidia posted April-quarter results that showed overall revenue of $26 billion.

Read: Nvidia is sporting growth one tech CEO says hasn't been seen 'in the history of capitalism'

The dichotomy between Nvidia and the market on Thursday could also be seen in the magnitude of S&P 500 decliners during the session. Only 54 S&P 500 components ended the day in positive territory, the lowest count since there were only 40 daily winners on April 12, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Opinion: Nvidia just created a new multibillion-dollar business from scratch

-Emily Bary

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05-23-24 1643ET

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