Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq notch records as Powell reiterates rate cuts are coming

• US stocks climbed Thursday following Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress.
• The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both hit record highs in trading.

US stocks notched fresh records on Thursday as investors cheered comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell nodding to rate cuts coming this year.

In his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said he anticipates the central bank will bring down borrowing costs before the end of the year, though the cutting process won't begin imminently. He doubled down on his Wednesday comments regarding easing policy.

The economy has proved resilient so far despite monetary policy tightening, in Powell's view, and he said it was a "big surprise" that inflation steadily cooled without any sizable gains in the unemployment rate.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both touched record highs, jumping 1.03% and 1.51%, respectively.

Nvidia led the way among tech names on Thursday, gaining more than 4% and creeping closer to surpassing Apple's market cap of roughly $2.63 trillion. Shares of the chip maker have gained more than 91% year-to-date. Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk spike to a record high after it shared an update on a new obesity drug that might be even more effective than its hugely popular weight loss drug Wegovy.

Meanwhile, Thursday's jobless claims report for the week up to March 2 fell in line with expectations at 217,000. Continuing claims increased by about 8,000 to 1.9 million, also in line with expectations.

Traders will be watching for the nonfarm payrolls report, due Friday, as another data point to hint at when the central bank could make its next move. Expectations are for employers to have added 198,000 jobs last month, lower than the stunning 353,000 added in January.

Optimism for a soft landing has ramped up over recent months, with the upbeat outlook reaching America's top brass. Business Roundtable's quarterly CEO sentiment survey spiked by 11 points in the first quarter, climbing above its long-term average for the first time in two years.

Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank held benchmark interest rates steady and pulled back its economic growth outlook for the year ahead.

Here's where US indexes stood as the market closed at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 5,157.34, up 1.03%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,791.21, up 0.31% (+121.50 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 16,273.38, up 1.51%

Here's what else is going on:

• The stock market's most popular valuation tool is only useful for the long term, an equity strategist said.
• Bitcoin is replacing gold in many investors' portfolios.
• Today's stock market is missing two key bubble ingredients.
• Goldman Sachs said stock market buybacks will rebound to $925 billion in 2024.
• China has snapped up a huge amount of gold for 16 months in a row.
• JPMorgan said retail traders have been ditching Magnificent Seven stocks for pharma names like Eli Lilly.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• Oil prices dropped, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.2% to $78.95 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved lower 0.1% to $82.88 a barrel.
• Gold edged higher 0.4% to $2,166.70 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield edged lower to 4.09%.
• Bitcoin climbed 0.47% to $67,512.