NEW YORK: Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, extending its tech-led rally and touching two-week highs as worries over artificial intelligence disruption and costs took a back seat to renewed optimism over the nascent technology's potential benefits.
All three major US stock indices advanced, with the Nasdaq, powered by chips, enjoying the largest percentage gain as markets near the end of a tumultuous month that was marked by concerns over massive investment in AI infrastructure and the extent to which it could disrupt myriad industries.
Nvidia, at the forefront of the AI revolution, reported fourth-quarter revenue of US$68.13 billion, beating analyst estimates. Its shares were up about 3% in extended trading.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index gained 1.6% ahead of Nvidia's earnings.
The S&P Software & Services index, bouncing back from its 23% year-to-date slump, was a clear outperformer, jumping 2.9%.
"We're in the middle of a push-pull here between some negative sentiment and some extreme price action in parts of the market," said Zach Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"I think the (AI) disruption concerns are more acute right now than worries over return on investment," Hill added. "Investors are trying to grapple with what could potentially be existential risk, and that's a bigger deal than not receiving as much payout as you would like."
Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin chimed in on the issue, saying it is not clear that the AI rollout will displace workers, adding the technology could enable workers and help the job market become more efficient.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307.65 points, or 0.63%, to 49,482.15, the S&P 500 gained 56.06 points, or 0.81%, to 6,946.13 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 288.40 points, or 1.26%, to 23,152.08.
Among the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, tech stocks led the percentage gainers, while industrials suffered the steepest loss.
Axon Enterprise jumped 17.6% after the Taser-maker beat fourth-quarter profit estimates. Both First Solar and Lowe's Companies provided weaker-than-expected annual sales guidance, sending their shares down 13.6% and 5.6%, respectively.
After Lowe's disappointing report, housing and homebuilders were clear underperformers, down 3% and 3.7% respectively, despite the 30-year fixed mortgage contract rate dipping to a 3-1/2-year low last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
On the staples side, alcohol producers with Brown-Forman off 7.6% and Molson Coors down 4.8%, after London-listed Johnnie Walker and Guinness maker Diageo projected a 2% to 3% organic sales decline in 2026 and cut its interim dividend in half.
GoDaddy tumbled 14.3% after the internet services provider forecast annual revenue below Wall Street expectations.
Considering recent volatility in software stocks, results from Salesforce, Intuit and Snowflake will likely be subject to added scrutiny.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.78-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 635 new highs and 98 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 3,148 stocks rose and 1,557 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.02-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 50 new 52-week highs and nine new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 127 new highs and 94 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 17.50 billion shares, compared with the 20.27 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. — Reuters
