Wall Street today: US stocks edge higher ahead of Nvidia earnings

US stock indices edged higher on Wednesday as investors awaited semiconductor leader Nvidia Corp’s second quarter earnings.

At 11:50 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 107.21 points, or 0.24%, to 45,525.28, the S&P 500 gained 14.32 points, or 0.22%, to 6,480.26, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 45.44 points, or 0.21%, to 21,589.71.

As of 9:56 AM Eastern Time, The benchmark S&P 500 was up less than 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2%.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 points, or flat, to 45,417.46. The S&P 500 fell 3.7 points, or 0.06%, to 6,462.26, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 17.9 points, or 0.08%, to 21,526.334.

Nvidia shares rose 0.2%. Its quarterly report will be released after the closing bell.

Market participants see Nvidia’s earnings as a barometer for the strength of the boom in Artificial Intelligence because the company makes most of the chips that power the technology.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.27% from 4.26% late on Tuesday. The 2-year Treasury yield fell to 3.65% from 3.68%.

Cracker Barrel stock gained 5.2% after the company scrapped plans to change its logo.

Kohl’s shares soared 19.7% after the department store chain reported better than expected quarterly results.

J.M. Smucker stock declined 6.1% after the jelly and jam maker’s first quarter results fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.

Microsoft and Meta Platforms, Nvidia's top customers, struggled for direction.

Gold prices dropped on Wednesday as the US dollar and Treasury yields gained.

At 1018 AM ET (14:18 GMT), spot gold was down 0.4% to $3,379.76 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery eased 0.1% to $3,428.

Among other metals, spot silver edged 0.7% lower to $38.31 per ounce, platinum slipped 0.5% to $1,341.83, and palladium dropped 0.6% to $1,087.44.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to stockpile data and weighed the start of a higher US tariff on Indian goods.

Brent nudged above $67 a barrel after falling more than 2% in the prior session.

The US raised the tariff on some Indian goods to 50% on Wednesday, the highest levy applied to any Asian nation, to punish the country for buying Russian oil.

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