U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a new record high, as investors looked forward to NVIDIA’s earnings, the most closely watched event of the week. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) jumped 0.3% or 147.16 points, to close at 45,465.23 points.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, or 15.46 points, to finish at 6,481.40 points, to hit a fresh all-time closing high. Energy and tech stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) gained 1.1%, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 0.5%. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) rose 0.4%. Nine of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.2%, or 45.87 points, to end at 21,590.40 points.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.57% to 14.85. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the S&P 500 by a 2.2-to-1 ratio. On the S&P 500, there were 28 new highs and one new low.
On the Nasdaq, there were 127 new highs and 35 new lows.
A total of 14 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.9 billion.
Wall Street carried the positive sentiment from the previous session into Wednesday as investors looked forward to NVIDIA Corporation’s (NVDA) quarterly results after market close. The AI chipmaker accounts for roughly 8% of the S&P 500 and has the largest weight on the index.
The company’s quarterly results will impact a significant number of Americans, particularly those who rely on index investment funds to save for their post-retirement benefits. NVIDIA’s results will thus be a test of the ongoing tech rally that has been driving the valuation of AI-centric companies, which many believe is too high.
NVIDIA’s shares swung between gains and losses before ending 0.1% lower ahead of its quarterly financial report.
Shares of other tech and AI companies ended mixed on Wednesday. Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) gained 0.2%, while Microsoft Corporation’s (MSFT) shares rose 0.9%. Microsoft has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Investors also closely watched developments on the political front after President Donald Trump, earlier in the week, said that he would fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the board.
On Wednesday, a lawyer for Cook said that she would file a lawsuit against Trump. The President’s decision has raised concerns among investors about the independence of the central bank.
