The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 48.44 points, or 0.13%, settling at 38,612.24, the S&P 500 added 0.13% to close at 4,981.80, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.32% to end at 15,580.87
The Nasdaq Composite dropped for a third successive session Wednesday as traders looked ahead to Nvidia’s latest quarterly earnings report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 48.44 points, or 0.13%, settling at 38,612.24. The S&P 500 added 0.13% to close at 4,981.80. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.32% to end at 15,580.87.
Nvidia is slated to post its fiscal Q4 results after the bell. Concerns surrounding Nvidia’s high valuation have grown leading up to the announcement, as shares of the chipmaker have surged almost 230% over the past year. The stock slipped 2.85% on Wednesday.
Can Nvidia hold up a market that is in need of a key catalyst?, LPL Financial’s chief global strategist Quincy Krosby asked, noting that anticipations of interest rate reductions have been recently “pulled from underneath the market.” That has left stocks without a clear catalyst, leaving earnings and guidance as the next-best catalyst for continued growth in equities, Krosby added.
Elsewhere in corporate news, Palo Alto Networks lost 28.4% after the cybersecurity firm cut its full-year revenue guidance. SolarEdge Technologies shed around 12.2%, dropping on weak Q1 guidance.
Minutes released Wednesday from the Fed’s January meeting — which came on the back of hotter-than-expected economic data the previous week — signalled that central bankers are in no hurry to cut interest rates. Fed officials had decided to leave their key overnight borrowing rate unchanged, and also hinted that no rate cuts would occur until the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has “greater confidence” that inflation is slowing down.
