US stocks climbed to record highs Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision amid a wave of major tech earnings. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq gained 0.7%, and the Dow added 0.3%, buoyed by rate cut optimism.
Nvidia shares surged after rumors of possible relief from export restrictions on the company’s AI chips to China, pushing its market value above $5 trillion — the first time in history. The tech giant’s rally follows a string of announcements from its GTC event that reinforced investor faith in the AI boom driving tech stocks higher.
Markets are also awaiting the Fed’s statement for clues on further rate cuts coming this year, as investors bet the central bank will prioritize slowing inflation without derailing economic growth. Meanwhile, attention turns to quarterly results from Big Tech, with Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft reporting Wednesday and Apple and Amazon following Thursday.
Analysts expect another round of heavy data center and AI investment, but warn that even small disappointments could test the market’s record-breaking momentum.
