The Nasdaq led US stocks higher on Wednesday after Donald Trump’s boost to AI demand hopes outweighed fresh tariff threats from the new US president.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose nearly 1%, bolstered by surprisingly strong earnings from Netflix (NFLX), and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.5%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 0.2%, coming off a rise of over 500 points on a winning Tuesday on Wall Street.
Trump is in the driving seat for markets, with investors on alert for any fresh move in the president’s fast-flowing overhaul of policy. His latest push to make the US a leader in AI — an $500 billion private-sector investment plan and a roll-back of Biden-era safety measures — continued to give a bump to techs.
Shares in Oracle (ORCL), a partner in the “Stargate” venture, continued to rise, up almost 9% in pre-market trading on the prospect of higher AI spending. In Tokyo, SoftBank (9984.T, SFTBY) stock jumped 10%.
Meanwhile, Netflix (NFLX) stock soared more than 13% in early trading after it reported record new subscriber additions and beats on earnings and revenue.
Spirits were high despite heightened worries about a Trump-spurred trade war. The president said Tuesday his administration was considering imposing a 10% duty on China imports on Feb. 1, as he vowed to hit the EU with additional tariffs.
The stepped-up tariff threats come after US stocks rallied on Tuesday amid relief that China wasn’t targeted in Trump’s first policy moves, which promised new duties for Mexico and Canada. Chinese stocks fell on Wednesday as markets were rattled by the new trade-defense plan.
Oil prices rose, coming off a run of declines as investors weighed the odds of trade war. Gold (GC=F) gained, but was easing back from an 11-week intraday high earlier in the morning.
Corporate earnings continued to roll in. Before the bell, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) posted quarterly sales and profit above estimates thanks to strong sales of cancer treatments. Shares of Procter & Gamble (PG) popped after its sales also beat forecasts.
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S&P 500 opens near record high
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose nearly 1%, bolstered by surprisingly strong earnings from Netflix (NFLX), and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.5%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 0.1%, coming off a rise of over 500 points on a winning Tuesday on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 quickly shot up to 6,079.82 hovering just shy of it’s all-time intraday record high of 6,099.97.
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A word from Elon on his good friends at OpenAI
There is little love lost between Elon Musk and OpenAI.
And so when OpenAI — along with Oracle and Softbank — was announced as part of the initial $100 billion investment into the Trump-backed AI infrastructure program, Stargate, the tech mogul and close Trump confidant could not help himself.
Musk added that he has it on “good authority” Softbank, the deep-pocketed Japanese conglomerate run by Masayoshi Son, has under $10 billion in capital secured for this project.
Oracle, Softbank, and OpenAI — along with UAE-based AI investor MGX — are part of the initial equity backers of Stargate, which said Monday it would “begin deploying $100 billion immediately.”
Over the next four years, the project is planning to invest $500 billion to build new AI infrastructure in the US.
Musk, who now runs his own AI firm, xAI, has been locked in a court battle with OpenAI over its planned conversion to a for-profit structure.
Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman started the company together a decade ago as a non-profit entity aimed at building AI to advance humanity. Musk left the company in 2018.
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
Economic data: MBA Mortgage Applications (week ending Jan. 17); Leading Index (December)
Earnings: Alcoa (AA), Abbott Labs (ABT), Ally Financial (ALLY), Comerica (CMA), Discover Financial Services (DFS), GE Vernova (GEV), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Halliburton (HAL), Procter & Gamble (PG), Steel Dynamics (STLD), Travelers (TRV)
Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:
Trump’s policy spotlight could eclipse strong earnings season
Microsoft relaxes grip on OpenAI amid $500B ‘Stargate’ venture
Trump’s high-wire push to make the US an AI superpower
Netflix stock jumps after earnings stun Wall Street
J&J tops sales, profit estimates amid strong cancer drug sales
Trump Widens Tariff Threats to China, Europe on Day 2 in Office