U.S. Stocks Moving Back To The Upside, Nvidia Jumps Ahead Of Earnings

After moving sharply lower over the past several sessions, stocks have moved back to the upside during trading on Wednesday. The major averages have all moved higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.

Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Nasdaq is up 199.85 points or 1.1 percent at 19,226.24, the S&P 500 is up 43.40 points or 0.7 percent at 5,998.65 and the Dow is up 201.27 points or 0.5 percent at 43,822.43.

The rebound on Wall Street partly reflects bargain hunting following the recent pullback, which saw the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 close lower for four straight sessions.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled to its lowest closing level in three months on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell to a one-month closing low.

The jump by the Nasdaq also comes amid a sharp increase by shares of Nvidia (NVDA), which have surged by 4.2 percent after moving sharply lower over the past few sessions.

The AI darling and market leader is moving higher ahead of the release of its fourth quarter financial results after the close of today’s trading.

“Nvidia is due to report its fourth-quarter and full-year results on Wednesday and investors will be looking forward to the usual demolition of forecasts and also positive guidance for the next quarter from chief executive Jensen Huang,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Failure to deliver the customary upside surprise might not sit well,” he added. “Nvidia’s shares are no higher than they were last summer, despite strong earnings and ongoing investor enthusiasm for all things related to artificial intelligence, so any unexpected disappointment could cause some share price turbulence.”

Shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) have also skyrocketed by 18.2 percent after the AI server company filed its delayed financial results in time to meet the Nasdaq’s listing deadline.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing a substantial pullback by new home sales in the U.S. in the month of January.

The Commerce Department said new home sales plunged by 10.5 percent to an annual rate of 657,000 in January after spiking by 8.1 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 734,000 in December.

Economists had expected new home sales to slump by 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 680,000 from the 698,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Sector News

Networking stocks are turning in some of the market’s best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index surging by 2.9 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over a month.

Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Semiconductor, financial and airline stocks are also seeing significant strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.0 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 3.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.0 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are showing a lack of direction after moving sharply higher over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 4.30 percent.

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