NEW YORK: The tech-heavy Nasdaq led Wall Street’s main indexes higher on Wednesday as chip stocks rebounded ahead of Nvidia’s results that are crucial to illuminating future demand for AI.
At 11:31 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 122.51 points, or 0.28%, to 43,743.67, the S&P 500 gained 42.56 points, or 0.71%, to 5,997.81 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 211.83 points, or 1.11%, to 19,238.21.
Eight of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors traded higher, with technology stocks rising 1.8%.
AI chip leader Nvidia gained 4.4%, while peers Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices also rose, driving the broader semiconductor index 2.6% higher.
Nvidia’s quarterly results and forecasts, expected after markets close, are likely to set the tone for artificial intelligence stocks that have dominated Wall Street.
The launch of low-cost AI models from China’s DeepSeek had rattled the industry in January and raised questions around Big Tech’s heavy investments into the technology.
“(Nvidia’s) been the bellwether of this bull market… but (what’s) fundamentally shifted is this assumption that the only companies that will win and dominate generative AI themes are the ‘Magnificent Seven’,” said Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
“What the DeepSeek news reminds everybody is, that’s not how technology revolutions work.”
Megacaps were mixed, with Meta Platforms up 3% and Apple down 2%. Tesla rose 1.2% a day after the electric-vehicle maker’s market value fell below $1 trillion.
Super Micro jumped 19.6% after the chip company filed long-delayed annual and quarterly reports.
Since last week, a series of data releases, including Tuesday’s weak consumer sentiment print, has hinted that the world’s largest economy might be stalling despite inflation remaining high, keeping investors on the edge.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq logged their biggest four-day declines since September on Tuesday, also due to weakness in tech stocks, after an analyst report hinted at overcapacity in AI infrastructure.
Wall Street’s main indexes were also on track for monthly declines, with the Nasdaq poised for its worst drop in ten months.
However, a Reuters poll showed strategists still expect the S&P 500 to finish 2025 about 9% higher than current levels, although market volatility will persist.
On the fiscal front, President Donald Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax-cut and border security agenda will be sent to the US Senate after passing the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Traders expect the Fed to deliver its first interest rate cut in July, according to data compiled by LSEG.
In the latest on global trade, Trump ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on copper imports, sending prices of the red metal higher. Phoenix-based copper miner Freeport-McMoran jumped 5.2%.
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