U.S. stocks traded higher on Wednesday, led by gains in the technology sector as investors positioned ahead of earnings from Nvidia after the closing bell. The move extended a rebound that followed Monday’s sharp sell-off.
At 12:04 ET (17:04 GMT), the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 6,938.25, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.1% to 23,114.18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to 49,413.72.
The major Wall Street indices also finished higher in the previous session, as fears about artificial intelligence disruption across several sectors began to ease.
Nvidia earnings seen as key market catalyst
Investor sentiment improved after Meta Platforms announced a multi-year agreement with Advanced Micro Devices. In addition, AI firm Anthropic unveiled new partnerships, helping calm concerns about widespread disruption to software and data stocks from emerging AI models.
Attention now turns to Nvidia’s quarterly results, which are widely viewed as a bellwether for the broader AI industry and global chip demand. As the world’s largest company by market capitalization, Nvidia’s earnings could influence overall market direction.
Market participants are closely watching whether the chipmaker can maintain its streak of outperforming expectations. Nvidia has exceeded sales forecasts for 13 consecutive quarters. Analysts expect quarterly profit to rise 62% for the period ending in January, while revenue is projected to increase 68%, according to LSEG data.
Nvidia shares were last up 2.3% ahead of the report.
Other earnings scheduled after the close include results from Salesforce and Snowflake.
Among individual movers, U.S.-listed shares of MercadoLibre fell around 10% after the Latin American e-commerce company reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit, citing higher credit and logistics investments.
Trump addresses tariffs and economic policy
Outside the corporate sector, investors continue to monitor developments surrounding President Donald Trump’s trade policies. The president recently implemented temporary 10% global tariffs after a Supreme Court ruling struck down earlier reciprocal levies.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump defended his tariff strategy, saying it was “working well,” while describing the court decision as “unfortunate.” He also addressed inflation concerns and ongoing diplomatic efforts with Iran.
Public approval ratings remain under pressure. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 39% of respondents approved of Trump’s performance so far, while 58% disapproved of his handling of immigration policy.
Oil prices hold near multi-month highs
In commodities markets, oil prices hovered near seven-month highs ahead of U.S.–Iran nuclear talks scheduled in Switzerland later this week.
Brent crude futures edged up 0.1% to $70.63 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 0.2% to $65.47 per barrel. Both contracts remain close to their highest levels since early August, supported by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the positioning of U.S. military forces in the region.
U.S. envoys, including special representative Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, are set to meet Iranian officials on Thursday.
