US STOCKS-Wall St rises on chip rally ahead of Nvidia results

​Wall Street's main indexes rose on Wednesday, as a rebound ‌in ​chip stocks ahead of Nvidia's quarterly results lifted sentiment after a recent selloff driven by rising bond yields and inflation concerns. Nvidia, the world's most valuable company and the centerpiece of the global AI boom, rose 2%. The company'sresults are expected after the closing ‌bell.

Investors will crunch the numbers for signs that appetite for AI infrastructure remains strong enough to support lofty valuations across the technology and AI space. The broader chip sector also advanced on Wednesday. Marvell Technology rose 7.8%, Intel gained 6.3% and Micron Technology added 3.6%.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index advanced 2.9%. "Nvidia's earnings come at just the right time when the market needs some reassurance ‌that the promise of AI can overpower the headwind of rising bond yields," said James Demmert, chief investment officer at Main Street Research.

"The sticking points in Nvidia's earnings ‌report are any signs of margin compression due to rising memory prices, along with how the company is navigating sales in China." U.S. stocks have come under pressure in recent days as a selloff in global bond markets drove yields higher. Traders were expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at the turn of the year as the conflict in the Middle East pushes oil prices higher, reviving inflation worries.

The benchmark 10-year ⁠Treasury yield, ​which touched a 16-month high of 4.687% in ⁠the previous session, eased to 4.588% on Wednesday. Brent crude futures extended losses on the day, falling 5.6% to $105.13 after U.S. President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran were in the final stages, though investors remain wary ⁠about the outcome of peace talks as disruption to Middle Eastern supply continues.

At 11:51 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 529.35 points, or 1.08%, to 49,894.89, the S&P 500 gained 72.83 ​points, or 0.99%, to 7,426.44 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 359.73 points, or 1.39%, to 26,230.44. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors traded higher, led ⁠by consumer discretionary and technology, which rose about 1.8% each.

On the flip side, energy dropped 1.7% as oil prices fell, while consumer staples slipped 0.5%. Target shares fell 4%, weighing on staples, after the big-box retailer warned of a ⁠challenging ​macroeconomic backdrop even as it doubled its annual sales-growth forecast. Retail bellwether Walmart, expected to report quarterly results on Thursday, was down about 1%.

Due later in the day, minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting are being awaited by investors for clues on how officials are weighing inflation risks. Markets are now pricing in about a 37% chance of a 25-basis-point ⁠rate hike in December, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Among other movers, airline stocks were broadly higher amid falling oil prices, with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and ⁠Alaska Air up between 6% and 10%. Intuit declined ⁠3.5%. Reuters, citing an internal memo, reported that the company is laying off about 3,000 employees.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.11-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.85-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and 15 new ‌lows, while the Nasdaq Composite ‌recorded 62 new highs and 127 new lows.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)