All three major U.S. stock indexes closed in positive territory, with tech strength putting the Nasdaq out front

U.S. stocks jumped on Wednesday, clawing back some ground lost during the recent selloff as investors positioned themselves ahead of Nvidia’s much-anticipated quarterly results and crucial employment data that had been unavailable during the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown.

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed in positive territory, with tech strength putting the Nasdaq out front.

Chipmaker Nvidia, which has come to represent the nascent artificial intelligence technology that has powered much of the stock market’s rally in recent months, reported better-than-expected earnings and forecast fourth-quarter revenue above estimates.

The companies that are Nvidia’s customers are expanding and continuing to grow their investment in AI infrastructure, so chip demand looks like it’s set to increase, said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle.

It seems early to talk about an AI bubble because the growth has been driven by earnings, which have driven growth expectations fairly higher, Haworth added. We’re early in this investment cycle; we’re moving from building these models to implementing them, he said.

Minutes from the U.S. central bank’s October meeting showed policymakers were more divided than usual, lowering interest rates even as some members cautioned the move could quell efforts to cool inflation.

Gold pared gains following the release of minutes from the central bank’s October meeting, and crude prices slipped on reports of a U.S.-proposed resolution to Russia’s-Ukraine conflict.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.73 points, or 0.07%, to 976.74.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index dropped 0.03%, while Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index declined 0.97 points, or 0.04%.