S&P500: Tech Stocks Jump Today as Nvidia Earnings Drive Forecast

Stocks Open Higher on Nvidia and Oracle

The major U.S. stock indexes opened higher on Wednesday, primarily due to contributions by both Nvidia and Oracle, as investors attempted to add to Tuesday’s performance. This led to an increase of 0.46% for the S&P 500, a gain of 1.01% for the NASDAQ, and an increase of 84.35 points, or 0.17% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Nvidia Earnings Take Center Stage

After the bell, Nvidia will report its earnings along with results from Salesforce and Snowflake. Investors are reevaluating the previously high valuations for these tech companies and becoming more cautious of how much capital hyperscalers are spending on artificial intelligence (AI).

Following a rating upgrade from Oppenheimer, Oracle shares increased by more than 4%, causing a broader increase in software companies which included Palantir and Microsoft. The only software company to have a negative performance was Workday, which dropped by 4% due to the company reporting a soft revenue forecast.

AI Fears Fade, Software Stocks Bounce

Trading activity in U.S. stocks during Tuesday’s session was impacted by the easing of fears surrounding disruption from AI, as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) provided a boost to the overall market after Meta Platforms (META) announced a multi-year deal with the semiconductor manufacturer for a global integration of their products.

Investors also saw a relief rally on software and cybersecurity names after Anthropic, the company known for developing an AI assistant named Claude, released new connectors and plugins for its Claude Cowork tool, which calmed investor concerns about the potential disruption to legacy software companies.

Iran and Tariffs Stay on the Radar

The market remains focused on geopolitical risk between the United States and Iran, while watching President Donald Trump’s proposed tariff — 15% — on all imports from every country. Instead of implementing a threshold as suggested by Trump, the federal government implemented a 10% global tariff on Tuesday. In his State of the Union address, President Trump touted the strength of the American economy and proposed a government-sponsored retirement savings account.

Technical Picture Turns Positive after 50-day MA Breakout

Technically, the March E-mini S&P 500 Index is facing a challenge at a resistance cluster formed by the 50-day moving average at 6930.81, a minor top at 6931.50 and a Fibonacci level at 6931.75.

Buyers have poked through this area, indicating strength and now need to overcome it with conviction to breakout toward the last three main tops at 7006.50, 7027.25 and 7043.00. A failure to build support on the bullish side of the 50-day MA could lead to a pullback to a 50% level at 6987.25.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.