Nvidia has delivered such massive gains in recent years that it's easy to overlook how the stock has performed over the short term. Most investors would be happy with a 20% gain in a year. Nvidia's share price has soared over 20% in the last five weeks.

U.S. stocks ended on a mixed note following the latest signals that the U.S. economy continues to hum. The S&P 500 closed little changed Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to the all-time high it set the day before,

China shares fell as investors digested much weaker-than-expected export data released late Monday. Japan's market jumped as its semiconductor firms followed Nvidia upward.