By Chibuike Oguh and Medha Singh
NEW YORK (Reuters) -An index of global stock markets edged higher in choppy trading on Thursday as investors digested lackluster revenue forecasts from artificial-intelligence chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and bitcoin approached the $100,000 milestone.
Shares of Nvidia, the world's most valuable company and a major contributor to the gains this year in the benchmark S&P 500, hit a record high early in the session but retreated to end up 0.53%. The chipmaker forecast its slowest revenue growth in seven quarters.
"(Nvidia's) results are still good but I think the disappointment came from maybe not quite as much of an upward guide on the Q4 number for the top line," said Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers in Boston.
On Wall Street, the three main indexes finished higher in a choppy session led by gains in utilities, financials, consumer staples and industrials. Communication services stocks were the biggest drag, driven by losses in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which ended down about 6%. U.S. prosecutors argued on Wednesday that Alphabet must divest its popular Chrome browser to end Google's search monopoly.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.06% to 43,870.35, the S&P 500 rose 0.53% to 5,948.71 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.03% to 18,972.42.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was up 0.38% to 851.05 after losing ground early in the session. European shares were up 0.41%, buoyed by a rally in energy and technology stocks.
"The market seems to be looking for a narrative right now and is in a little bit of a void for any news that can shape the direction of things," Melson added.
Bitcoin soared and is closing in on the $100,000 milestone. The world's largest cryptocurrency has gained more than 40% since Donald Trump won the Nov. 5 election, driven by expectations that his administration will be crypto-friendly. It gained 3.75% to $98,005.00. Ethereum rose 8.77% to $3,350.80.
Markets are also eyeing Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, who will play a key role in implementing his agenda of tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation.
The dollar rose in choppy trading as investors assessed declining weekly jobless claims, suggesting labor-market strength, and comments from two Federal Reserve governors on the path of interest rates.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.62% to 154.45 but it strengthened 0.29% to 0.887 against the Swiss franc.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,rose 0.37% to 107, reaching a 13-month high. The euro (EUR=EBS) down 0.41% at $1.0479.
Oil prices settled up about 2% after Russia and Ukraine exchanged missiles, raising crude-supply concerns. Brent crude futures rose 1.95% to $74.23 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased 2% to $70.10.
Spot gold rose, on track for the fourth-consecutive session of gains after hitting a more than one-week high. Spot gold rose 0.8% to $2,671.28 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.9% higher at $2,674.90.