U.S. stocks concluded Wednesday's session on a positive trajectory, buoyed by optimistic earnings reports and promising corporate developments. Investors were further encouraged by the prospect of potential interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve later this year.
Despite persistent concerns regarding tariff threats, market participants largely dismissed these issues, continuing to seek investment opportunities in equities.
All main market indices achieved solid gains, with the Nasdaq, heavily populated by technology stocks, experiencing a particularly notable increase. This surge was fueled by favorable earnings and sales forecasts from Netflix along with President Trump's AI initiative.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 130.92 points, or 0.3%, closing at 44,156.73. The S&P 500 added 37.13 points, or 0.61%, concluding at 6,086.37, whereas the Nasdaq advanced 252.56 points, or 1.28%, reaching 20,009.34.
President Trump's announcement of a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure, involving Oracle, OpenAI, and Softbank, provided a significant boost to technology shares.
Shares of Oracle Corporation surged by nearly 7%, NVIDIA appreciated by approximately 4.2%, Microsoft saw an increase of almost 4%, and Meta Platforms ended the day with a gain of about 2.7%.
Netflix shares soared nearly 10% following the company's report of an unprecedented 19 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter. The company's net income totaled $1.869 billion, or $4.27 per share, compared to $938 million, or $2.11 per share, in the same period the previous year.
Other notable gainers during the session included Amazon, Eli Lilly, Procter & Gamble, Salesforce, Cisco Systems, American Express, Analog Devices, and Nike, each advancing between 1% and 2%.
Conversely, Pfizer, Booking Holdings, Morgan Stanley, Merck, Chevron Corporation, Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, Tesla, and Exxon Mobil Corporation experienced notable declines.
In international markets, Asian stocks ended Wednesday's trading mixed. Chinese and Hong Kong markets registered significant declines, partly due to U.S. President Trump's tariff threats against the EU and China aimed at addressing trade imbalances and combating fentanyl trafficking.
Meanwhile, European markets finished broadly higher on Wednesday, with several indices reaching record levels. This was driven by favorable earnings reports and optimism surrounding potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and other central banks, including the European Central Bank, anticipated later this year.
