US stocks rose on Wednesday and erased their losses for the week so far, as Nvidia and other technology companies led the way.
The S&P 500 added 0.8% for a second straight gain following Monday's dip, when stocks dropped as investors tried to separate potential losers from winners in the artificial-intelligence boom.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3%.
Nvidia powers gains
Nvidia was one of the strongest forces lifting the market and rose 1.4% ahead of its highly anticipated profit report, which arrived after trading ended for the day. The company whose chips are at the centre of the AI revolution once again reported profit for the latest quarter that topped analysts' expectations. It also said it expects to make roughly $78 billion in revenue this quarter, when analysts had been forecasting less than $72.3 billion.
Because Nvidia has grown to become the US market's largest stock by value, it has more influence on the S&P 500 than any other company.
Nvidia's profit reports have become a bellwether for the market, not only because it's so big but also because of how influential the AI boom has broadly become over the market's moves. In past years, the AI frenzy helped stocks run to record after record amid hopes that it would revolutionise the economy and make it more productive.
Ongoing concerns about AI spending
More recently, though, concerns have climbed about whether companies like Alphabet and Amazon are spending so much on chips from Nvidia and other equipment that they'll never be able to make back the investments through future gains in productivity. If that leads to a pullback in spending, it will hit Nvidia directly.
Investors have also begun focusing on companies and industries that could get undercut by AI-powered competitors. That has led to sudden and swift sell-offs for stocks seen as potentially under threat, and spasms have rolled through industries as seemingly disparate as software, trucking logistics and legal services.
That's on top of other worries already weighing on the market, including new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump to replace ones struck down by the Supreme Court.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 56.06 points to 6,946.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 307.65 to 49,482.15, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 288.40 to 23,152.08.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose to 4.05% from 4.04% late on Tuesday.
