Wall Street opened Wednesday's session on a positive note, with technology and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks leading the recovery after recent losses. The Nasdaq Composite climbed sharply, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average struggled to find direction as investors weighed fresh inflation concerns against renewed optimism in the technology sector.
At 9:42 a.m. EST, the Nasdaq Composite was trading at 25,391.01, up 325.14 points, or 1.30%. The S&P 500 advanced 64.77 points, or 0.86%, to 7,585.70. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 60.06 points, or 0.11%, to 52,171.83.
The rebound in technology shares followed a strong pre-market performance, with Nasdaq-100 futures gaining 1.9% and S&P 500 futures rising 0.9%. Dow futures were up 68 points, or 0.1%, before the opening bell.
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Chipmaker Nvidia was among the biggest contributors to the technology-led recovery, with its shares jumping around 5% in early trading. The stock had fallen nearly 10% at the beginning of the week, putting pressure on the broader market.
Cloud infrastructure company CoreWeave also attracted investor interest, rallying 13% after reporting third-quarter revenue that exceeded analyst expectations. The company also raised its operating income and revenue guidance for 2026.
The upbeat results lifted sentiment across the semiconductor industry. In South Korea, the Kospi closed 2.6% higher, supported by a 5.36% gain in SK Hynix and a 3.57% rise in Samsung Electronics.
European technology stocks also joined the rally. Infineon gained 6.3%, while ASMI advanced 5.5%. STMicroelectronics rose 4% and ASML added around 3%.
Despite Wednesday's recovery, investors remain cautious following the latest US inflation numbers. Consumer prices rose 0.4% month-on-month in October, exceeding market expectations and strengthening bets on another Federal Reserve rate increase in December.
According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, traders were pricing in roughly a 90% probability of a quarter-percentage-point rate hike next month following the inflation report.
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BlackRock's Global Fixed Income CIO Rick Rieder said persistent inflation could leave the Federal Reserve dissatisfied with the pace of progress towards its target, making a December rate increase the base case for both the firm and the market.
Comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller also contributed to expectations of a December hike.
Meanwhile, US bond markets remained closed on Wednesday in observance of Veterans Day, leaving investors focused on equity market movements and the evolving outlook for monetary policy.
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