US stocks rise as AI trade faces Nvidia earnings test

Nvidia rose 0.8% in premarket trading, with the AI bellwether facing a high-stakes moment when it reports results after the close

• Nasdaq 100 futures rose as traders await Nvidia's earnings report
• Nvidia shares gained 0.8% premarket ahead of key results
• Bitcoin rallied over 3% while the dollar slipped

Did our AI summary help?

Stocks extended a technology-driven rebound as traders waited for Nvidia Corp.’s earnings to see whether the chipmaker can regain its place as the artificial-intelligence trade’s main driver.

Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.5% after Tuesday’s rally in beaten-down software firms, while those for the S&P 500 climbed 0.3%. Treasuries fell as money markets trimmed bets on US interest-rate cuts. Oil held near the highest since July as President Donald Trump added to speculation that he’s preparing for military action against Iran.

Nvidia rose 0.8% in premarket trading, with the AI bellwether facing a high-stakes moment when it reports results after the close. The firm has been underperforming semiconductor peers in recent months, a trend that has coincided with the Nasdaq 100 failing to hit new highs since the end of October and a rotation away from technology stocks.

To reinvigorate its stock performance, Nvidia will at least need to beat its prior outlook and set new targets above current Wall Street estimates. While the company has done this repeatedly, concerns have grown that the AI spending wave isn’t sustainable.

“Nvidia’s results are expected to be good given the massive capex announced by its clients, but it’s all about how the market will react,” said Arnaud Girod, head of cross-asset strategy at Kepler Cheuvreux. “The Nasdaq needs Nvidia if it is to limit its current underperformance.”

Bitcoin rallied more than 3%. The dollar slipped after President Donald Trump doubled down on his commitment to tariffs, before erasing the move. European stocks rose 0.6%, hitting a record on a rebound in banks and miners. South Korea pushed past France in stock-market value. Gold and silver climbed.

Another key earnings event on Wednesday is Salesforce Inc., the cloud-based customer-relationship firm whose stock has plunged 30% this year after getting caught up in the selloff of software companies on fears that AI could render their services obsolete.

Analysts, on average, project that the company will post its best quarterly revenue growth rate in three years. Still, highlighting the risks for software-as-a-service firms, Workday Inc. slid 9% in early trading after subscription sales fell short of estimates.

Swaps tied to Federal Reserve policy-meeting dates have reduced the chances of a quarter-point cut by June to 50%, the lowest so far this year. The possibility of a third reduction by year-end has almost vanished. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 4.05%.

While Treasuries showcased their haven status during Monday’s tech selloff, longer-term pressures including uncertainty over inflation, tariffs and fiscal questions remain, according to Laura Cooper, head of macro credit at Nuveen.

“We are unlikely to see the resumption of rate cuts until we see greater signs of disinflationary pressures coming through, which to our mind is more of a second-half-of-2026 story,” Cooper told Bloomberg TV. “All of the factors suggest we are in a higher-for-longer yield backdrop.”

Rates on Japan’s longer-term bonds climbed further after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government nominated two new Bank of Japan policy board members who are seen as dovish. The yen fell 0.5%, the worst performance among major currencies.