WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After seeing weakness throughout much of the session, stocks recovered in the latter part of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels before eventually ending the session narrowly mixed.
The Dow ended the day up 139.53 points or 0.3 percent at 43,408.47, while the S&P 500 closed little changed, up just 0.13 points at 5,917.11.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 21.32 points or 0.1 percent at 18,966.14 but staged a notable recovery attempt after tumbling by as much as 1.4 percent.
The roughly flat close by the major averages came as traders looked ahead to the release of quarterly results from AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) after the close of today's trading.
Nvidia, which has recently been a major market leader, fluctuated over the course of the session before closing down 0.8 percent.
'Demand for Nvidia's products and services is unlikely to be a problem, it's more about the fine detail on the new Blackwell chip and any commentary on boosting supplies in 2025,' said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
'Nvidia is forecast to report $0.746 earnings per share on $33.09 billion of revenue,' he added, 'But beating those figures may not be enough to put the share price back on an upwards path. Nvidia will also need to reassure on Blackwell and outline the reasons why the AI super-craze will stay intact for 2025, 2026 and beyond.'
The volatility seen late in the session also came as trading activity was somewhat subdued amid a lack of major U.S. economic data.
Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves as they kept an eye on developments overseas amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
Sector News
Biotechnology stocks showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.8 percent. The index continued to regain ground after hitting a three-month closing low on Monday.
An increase by the price of crude oil also contributed to strength among oil service stocks, while healthcare and pharmaceutical stocks also turned in strong performance.
Meanwhile, notable weakness remained visible among computer hardware stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index falling by 1.3 percent after surging over the two previous sessions. A sharp pullback by shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) weighed on the sector.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index slipped by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries climbed off their worst levels after an early pullback but remained in the red. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.7 basis points to 4.406 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Thursday is likely to be driven by reaction to Nvidia's quarterly results, while reports on weekly jobless claims and existing home sales may also attract some attention.
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