Tech leaders lift stocks as buyers return
US stocks ended higher on Wednesday as investors brushed aside worries about artificial intelligence. And digested the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes.
The S&P 500 rose for a third straight session, adding 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is less exposed to large technology names, increased 0.3%.
Gains in technology-related heavyweights helped lift the broader market as Nvidia climbed 1.6%. After the company said it had signed a multiyear deal to sell Meta Platforms millions of its current AI chips. Meta added 0.6% while Amazon rose 1.8%, and Microsoft gained 0.7%.
“At a certain point, weakness in tech was bound to bring in the marginal buyer,” said Ross Mayfield. An investment strategy analyst in Louisville, KY.
Energy stocks outperformed other sectors. In technology-tied storage names, Sandisk, Western Digital and Seagate Technology Holdings rose between 1.7% and 4.4%, extending gains that have been supported by demand linked to AI.
Some software shares also showed signs of recovery after recent concerns that stronger AI tools could intensify competition and pressure margins. The S&P 500 software and services sector rose 1.1%, helped by Cadence Design Systems after the company beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates.
Not all moves were positive, however, as Palo Alto Networks fell 6.8% after trimming its annual profit forecast.