(Sharecast News) - Major indices traded higher early on Wednesday as investors patiently awaited quarterly earnings from semiconductor giant Nvidia after the close.
As of 1515 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.43% at 49,386.54, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.65% to 6,935.10 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 1.12% firmer at 23,120.47.
The Dow opened 212.04 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as the blue-chip index partially rebounded from a tariff-fuelled sell-off.
Wednesday's primary focus will undoubtedly be quarterly numbers from chipmaker Nvidia, with the firm's numbers coming as investors continue to reassess elevated valuations across the sector and grow more cautious over the scale of AIrelated capital spending by hyperscalers.
Elsewhere in the corporate space, Lowe's beat expectations with its quarterly revenue and earnings figures as sales posted doubledigit growth from a year earlier. The home improvement retailer also said it expects fullyear sales to come in between $92bn and $94bn in FY26, which would represent an increase of roughly 7% to 9% compared with the prior year.
Still to come, Salesforce, Zoom Communications and Snowflake will all report earnings after the close.
Separately, market participants were also monitoring tensions between the US and Iran and Donald Trump's threat to raise global tariffs to 15% over the weekend, though a 10% duty on worldwide imports was ultimately implemented on Tuesday.
On the macro front, US mortgage applications edged higher in the week ended 20 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the modest improvement seen a week earlier despite a further drop in benchmark borrowing costs. Mortgage applications rose 0.4% week-on-week, following a 2.8% increase in the previous period, with the MBA highlighting that the only modest increase came despite mortgage rates falling to their lowest level in nearly four years, driven by soft risk appetite that pushed investors into longdated Treasuries.
Refinancing activity, which is more sensitive to shortterm rate moves, climbed 4%, while applications to purchase a home fell 5%, with the report pointing out that a lack of new supply that continued to keep prospective buyers on the sidelines.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $280.53 2.40%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $232.83 1.53%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $913.96 1.30%
Visa Inc. (V) $310.95 1.21%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $187.52 1.13%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $386.89 1.05%
American Express Co. (AXP) $322.86 0.74%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $124.83 0.73%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $772.78 0.59%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $78.59 0.58%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $377.98 -1.69%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $30.58 -1.51%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $104.89 -1.09%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $45.76 -0.78%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $164.03 -0.76%
Boeing Co. (BA) $231.85 -0.66%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $184.14 -0.65%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $331.01 -0.61%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $80.25 -0.58%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $63.82 -0.42%
S&P 500 - Risers
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $202.27 8.28%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $8.01 7.18%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $289.07 6.83%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $415.50 5.51%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $81.69 4.78%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $137.65 4.52%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $254.10 4.22%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $393.26 4.10%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,560.94 3.64%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $432.61 3.47%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Apache Corp. (APA) $27.88 -2.60%
LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $32.63 -2.00%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $169.09 -1.99%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $92.48 -1.96%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $107.33 -1.93%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $52.26 -1.89%
PepsiCo Inc (PEP) $166.83 -1.60%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $228.18 -1.58%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $24.20 -1.55%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $13.03 -1.26%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $289.07 6.84%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $3.40 5.92%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $415.50 4.92%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $81.69 4.68%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $393.26 4.06%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $254.10 4.03%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,560.94 3.60%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $432.61 3.49%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,545.14 3.16%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $48.07 2.23%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,769.66 -7.95%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $124.69 -4.25%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $24.20 -2.32%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $92.48 -1.96%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $107.33 -1.93%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $228.18 -1.58%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $115.62 -1.33%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $84.49 -1.23%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $31.28 -1.04%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $121.64 -1.03%
125.82 (1.18%)
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