U.S. stock markets climbed Wednesday as investors braced for Nvidia’s highly anticipated profit report, due after the closing bell. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, recovering losses from earlier in the week, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 313 points, or 0.6%, as of 12:45 p.m. Eastern time.
Nvidia in the Spotlight
Nvidia was the strongest single force lifting the market, rising 2.3% ahead of what analysts expect to be another blowout report. Wall Street is forecasting Nvidia will say its profit surged nearly 70% from a year earlier to $37.52 billion for the three months through Jan. 25—an average of more than $400 million per day. Nvidia’s profit reports have become a bellwether for the market because it has become Wall Street’s biggest stock and because of how influential artificial intelligence has become over market moves.
The AI Sentiment Shift
In past years, the AI frenzy helped stocks reach record after record amid hopes it would revolutionize the economy and make it more productive. More recently, concerns have grown about whether companies like Alphabet and Amazon are spending so much on chips and related equipment that they’ll never be able to make back the investments through future gains in productivity—something that could hit Nvidia directly if it causes a pullback in spending. Investors have also focused on industries that could get undercut by AI-powered competitors, contributing to swift sell-offs in areas including software, trucking logistics and legal services.
Tariff Uncertainty
Those AI-related concerns have been layered on top of other worries weighing on the market, including new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump to replace ones struck down by the Supreme Court.
Corporate Gainers and Losers
Some strong earnings reports helped offset weaker spots in the market. Cava Group jumped 24.6% after delivering better profit and revenue than analysts expected, and it said its fiscal-year revenue topped $1 billion for the first time. Axon Enterprise rose 17.1% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. They helped offset a 12% drop for First Solar after it reported a weaker-than-expected profit. Lowe’s fell 5.5% after investors focused on its 2026 profit forecast, which fell short of analysts’ estimates, even though it reported higher profit than expected; CEO Marvin Ellison said the broad housing market remains pressured.
International Markets and Treasuries
Overseas, markets broadly rose. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.2% and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.9%. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped to 4.03% from 4.04% late Tuesday.
DoorDash Strategic Shift
In corporate news, DoorDash announced it is ending operations in Qatar, Singapore, Japan and Uzbekistan following a months-long review of country-specific conditions. The company said it wants to focus investment where it can build sustainable scale and long-term market leadership and does not expect the exits to affect its financial guidance; its shares rose about 5% in midday trading.
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
