U.S. stocks ended solidly higher on Wednesday, with Nvidia gaining ahead of its quarterly results after the closing bell. The technology sector extended a rebound after a sharp sell-off on Monday.
The benchmark S&P 500 index climbed 0.8% to close at 6,947.98 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite gained 1.3% to settle at 23,152.08 points, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% to conclude at 49,482.27 points.
The main averages on Wall Street advanced in the prior session, as concerns about artificial intelligence disruption across several industries dissipated.
"Investors are applauding tech’s two-day resurgence to lead markets higher as many had seen the recent rotation out of tech to be a permanent shift in theme for 2026," Jake Dollarhide, CEO at Longbow Asset Management, told Investing.com.
Nvidia to test market’s confidence
Sentiment received a boost Tuesday after Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) announced a multi-year deal with Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), as well as Anthropic detailing a wave of partnerships, which helped to soothe some concerns around widespread disruption to software and data stocks from the AI startup’s newest models.
However, this optimism will be tested later in the session with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the world’s most valuable company, set to report its latest results after the close. These numbers are largely expected to act as a bellwether for the AI industry and chip demand, and are likely to act a signpost for the direction of global stock markets now entwined with the nascent technology.
"It’s not only Nvidia investors who will be nervous ahead of the company’s results; the entire global equity market may be on edge, given the importance of the AI trade," Laurence Booth, global head of markets at CMC Markets, said.
The chipmaker has outpaced sales forecasts for 13 straight quarters, and thus it’s the size of the beat that is likely to matter to investors. Forecasts are for profits to rise 62% in the quarter to end January, and revenue to jump 68%, according to LSEG data.
"For the past three years, Nvidia has led the Mag 7, the overall tech trade, and the AI trade, but can it once again crush not only its own earnings estimates, but also the ’whisper numbers’ in which analysts expect it to beat those earnings expectations by?" Longbow Asset Management’s Dollarhide said.
Nvidia stock ended 1.4% higher.
Elsewhere, results from the likes of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) are also due following the closing bell.
Among major movers, U.S.-listed shares of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) slid about 8%. The Latin American e-commerce giant delivered a steep decline in quarterly profit due to credit and logistics investments.
Trump’s State of the Union speech
Away from the corporate sector, uncertainty around the fate of President Donald Trump’s tariffs remains, after he imposed temporary 10% global duties following a Supreme Court decision striking down his so-called "reciprocal" levies.
At a State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump said "everything was working well" with his tariff agenda, adding that the Supreme Court ruling was "unfortunate."
Beyond tariffs, Trump spoke on a wide range of topics, from his administration’s attempts to curb inflation to ongoing peace negotiations with Iran.
The president is grappling with increasing voter dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy, especially in curbing the high cost of living. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released on Sunday found only 39% of respondents approved his job as president so far, while 58% disapproved his handling of immigration.
Crude near seven-month highs
Oil prices hovered near seven-month highs ahead of nuclear deal negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in Switzerland later this week.
Brent futures were last up 0.3% to $70.76 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 0.2% to $65.47 a barrel.
Both contracts remain close to their highest levels since early August as the U.S. has positioned military forces in the Middle East to compel Iran to agree to an end to its nuclear program.
U.S. envoys, including special representative Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, are due to meet Iranian counterparts on Thursday.
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