By Caitlin McCabe and Hannah Erin Lang
A note of optimism is emerging following a rough stretch on Wall Street. Stocks opened modestly higher, after economic worries and tariff fears weighed on markets again Tuesday.
Nvidia's earnings are due after the close. Its shares rallied in early trading, after dropping yesterday as part of a broader tech-led selloff.
The AI chip maker's results have become a major market event, with Nvidia's stock moving 6% or more the day after reporting in three of the last four quarters. Given Nvidia's size, many investors expect Wednesday's report could make or break the recent stock-market swoon. The S&P 500 has fallen 3.1% in the last four trading days.
Investors expect to see big growth in Nvidia's revenue and earnings, but also will look for any commentary about competition and politics. Nvidia's chips have been embroiled in the U.S.-China standoff, while its stock has been rattled by the emergence of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.
Meantime, copper prices rose after President Trump instructed the Commerce Department to investigate imposing tariffs on imports of the metal. Shares of mining companies such as Freeport-McMoRan climbed in early trading.
In recent trading:
U.S. stocks opened higher, with the Nasdaq Composite leading gains.
The 10-year Treasury yield held below 4.3%, having slid Tuesday to settle at 4.297%.
Oil prices fell, pressured by concerns about economic growth and the possibility of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Futures for Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped over 2% to about $73 a barrel.
Bitcoin prices fell below $87,000. On Tuesday, the cryptocurrency suffered its biggest one-day percentage drop in nearly seven months.
Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 advanced, bolstered by strong earnings from companies including Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Chinese stocks also had a strong session, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng rising more than 3% and the Shanghai Composite up 1%.
Coming up:
U.S. new-home sales data are due at 10 a.m. ET.
Salesforce is due to post earnings Wednesday afternoon, along with Paramount Global and Snowflake.
Write to Caitlin McCabe at caitlin.mccabe@wsj.com and Hannah Erin Lang at hannah.lang@wsj.com
This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 26, 2025 09:40 ET (14:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
