US close: S&P 500, Nasdaq rise for third straight day

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mostly higher on Wednesday, but trading within a relatively narrow range following recent gains, with sentiment lifted by a flurry of deals in the tech sector.

The S&P 500 inched 0.1% higher to 5,892.58 while the Nasdaq rose 0.7% to 19,146.81, with both settling at levels not seen since the last week of February. The Dow, however, fell for the second day, slipping 0.2%.

"Stock indices in the US [were] mildly higher on Wednesday after finally recouping their 2025 losses on Tuesday. The focus is now on whether US stocks can achieve fresh record highs that were reached earlier this year," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have gained around 4.1% and 6.8% over the past three sessions alone, respectively, after sentiment was lifted by the weekend agreement between the US and China to temporarily lower tariffs as they continue trade negotiations, while US inflation figures for April came in lower than expected.

Nevertheless, trading may have also been rangebound ahead of a flurry of economic data due out on Thursday, including US jobless claims, the Empire State and Philly Fed manufacturing indices, and industrial production figures.

The focus, however, will likely be on US retail sales and April's US producer price index as investors continue monitor the impact of America's fluctuating trade policies on consumer sentiment and input prices. Retail sales are expected to have stalled in April after growing 1.5% the month before, while annual PPI inflation is tipped to have slowed to 2.5% year-on-year from 2.7%.

The only major economic data release from Wednesday's session was a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association before the opening bell, which showed that US mortgage applications edged 1.1% higher in the week ended 9 May, following an 11% surge the previous week.

Market movers

Chip giant Nvidia was up 4%, extending recent gains after the Department of Commerce said it was scrapping the so-called 'AI Diffusion Rule', which imposed restrictions on AI chip exports to certain countries.

With shipment caps now curbed, Nvidia and sector peer AMD were able to strike agreements with Saudi Arabia's state-backed Humain to supply chips for its AI data centres. The deals saw Bank of America raise its target prices for both stocks.

Similarly, server and storage systems group Super Micro Computer surged 16% after announcing a deal with Saudi group DataVolt worth $20bn. The deal will see SMC provide "ultra-dense GPU platforms and rack systems" for DataVolt's AI campuses in Saudi Arabia and the US.

US-listed shares of Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com fell 4% despite beating forecasts with first-quarter sales and profits, while trading platform eToro jumped 29% after debuting on the Nasdaq.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.94 1.40%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $611.60 1.29%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $265.64 1.00%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $96.83 0.99%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $452.94 0.85%

Boeing Co. (BA) $204.72 0.64%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $290.74 0.54%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $69.16 0.29%

Visa Inc. (V) $356.48 0.09%

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.52 -4.61%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $73.47 -4.12%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $262.28 -3.02%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.13 -2.11%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $30.17 -1.95%

3M Co. (MMM) $147.98 -1.90%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $146.36 -1.40%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $308.01 -1.08%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $61.73 -1.06%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $262.64 -0.88%

S&P 500 - Risers

PVH Corp. (PVH) $87.43 8.42%

International Paper Co. (IP) $50.52 4.83%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $117.72 4.68%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $135.34 4.16%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $166.81 3.68%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $165.37 3.66%

Gap Inc. (GAP) $26.27 3.27%

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $52.24 3.14%

Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) $124.22 2.51%

Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) $22.01 1.99%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $90.96 -5.88%

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $141.80 -5.88%

AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $177.44 -5.62%

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $406.05 -5.34%

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $44.12 -5.30%

Mettler Toledo International (MTD) $1,117.49 -5.03%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.52 -4.61%

Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $50.58 -4.55%

Danaher Corp. (DHR) $187.81 -4.47%

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $78.99 -4.37%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $10.06 7.94%

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $9.77 7.60%

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.13 5.35%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $135.34 4.16%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $347.68 4.07%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $166.81 3.68%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $165.37 3.66%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,564.00 1.94%

CSX Corp. (CSX) $31.05 1.67%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $92.50 1.55%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.52 -4.61%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $35.73 -4.08%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.84 -3.74%

Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $55.36 -3.08%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $262.28 -3.02%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $98.38 -3.01%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $60.65 -2.65%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $78.21 -2.60%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $421.16 -2.51%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $120.37 -2.27%